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.
August 3, 1914: Esther
Mitchell is Dead By Own Hand
Evening Telegram (Portland) 8/3/1914 p2
Esther Mitchell is Dead By Own Hand
Girl of Holy Roller Fame, who Killed Her Brother, is Suicide.
Newport, Or., Aug. 3.--Esther Mitchell, of Holy Roller fame, who since
her recent marriage was Mrs. James K. Berry, committed suicide late Saturday
evening at her home at Waldport, by taking a dose of poison, and was dead when
found. The killing of her brother at Seattle, after he had killed Joshua
Creffield, the Holy Roller priest, had apparently preyed upon her mind
continually, and friends and relatives have been keeping a close watch on her
for a long time. She was married last March to J. K. Berry, of Waldport, but
that did not improve her mental condition, and recently, while visiting
relatives at Yachats, she bade them a “long good-bye.” Coroner Carter held an
inquest yesterday, and the jury’s verdict is not yet known.
A few days
before her suicide Mrs. Berry started from her home to Yachats to visit
friends, and failed to arrive there. Later she reappeared at her home and claimed that she was deathly sick. It is now believed that she had then taken
poison and because of taking an overdose, or not enough to be fatal, she became
ill. Her action in taking a dose sufficient to cause death is believed to have
been the result of a deliberate plan to kill herself.
HEADLINES IN
PAPERS FOR THE SAME ARTICLE
Morning Oregonian (Portland) 8/3/1914 p4
Girl’s Career is Tragic
Oregon Daily Journal (Portland) 8/3/1914 p14
Holy Roller Principal Suicide
Strange Control by ‘Holy Roller’ Cause of Brother’s
Murder.
Newport, Or., Aug. 3.--Esther Berry, who as Esther Mitchell was the
central figure in the Mitchell-Creffield murders in Seattle, almost a decade
ago, is dead, a suicide at her home at Waldport. She took strychnine, the same
poison by which her sister, Mrs. Maud Hurt-Creffield, took her life in 1906.
Mrs. Berry’s death is the
last of the tragic Creffield “Holy Roller” cases which resulted in the killing
of Franz Edmund Creffield, founder of the peculiar religious sect, by brother,
George Mitchell, and his subsequent killing by Esther Mitchell in revenge, just
two days after he had been acquitted for killing the “Holy Roller” in Seattle.
Mrs. Berry committed suicide
Saturday night at 11 o’clock at the Berry home. The coroner’s jury returned a
verdict of intentional suicide. She was married to James Berry of Waldport
about five months ago and appeared happy to all who knew her, but has had
despondent spells ever since she shot her brother in Seattle several years ago.
Her other brother and sisters feared that she would do something of this kind
at some time in her life, and she has been carefully watched. Up till her marriage
to Berry she lived with the family of O. V. Hurt at Waldport, and spent some of
her time visiting Seattle and Portland relatives.
The Holy
Rollers were organized by Creffield near Corvallis in 1903. Creffield seemed to exercise absolute
control over women. In 1904 it was learned that the sect’s ritual was such that
officers secured Creffield’s arrest on a statutory charge and was given two
years in the state’s prison.
Following his release he
returned to Corvallis, met Esther Mitchell, who with her sister, later
Creffield’s wife, went to Seattle. George Mitchell followed them and finally
shot Creffield to death. He was tried for murder, acquitted, and was leaving
for Portland when Esther met him at the depot and shot him down in revenge.
Both Esther and her sister
were held for their brother’s murder. They were adjudged insane and Mrs.
Creffield, in the King county jail, got possession of strychnine and ended her
life. Esther was sent to the state hospital for the insane at Steilacoom, and
finally discharged.
Daily Gazette Times (Corvallis) 8/3/1914 p4
Esther Mitchell a Suicide
Esther Mitchell-Berry, of
“Holy Roller” fame, and well known in Corvallis, suicided last night at Waldport, according to an Oregonian special. She took strychnine.
No reason for her act is given. She was married but a few weeks ago to James
Berry, and previous to this had been a quiet and respected resident of
Waldport.
Esther Mitchell was an
ardent disciple of Creffield, the founder of the “Holy Rollers.” Her brother,
George Mitchell, followed Creffield to Seattle and shot him dead on the street.
Two days after he acquittal Esther Mitchell, still devoted to the dead
Creffield’s creed, shot and killed her own brother in the Union depot at
Seattle. Mrs. Berry’s death was caused by the same drug which killed Mrs. Maud Hurt-Creffield November 6, 1906. Mrs. Creffield and Esther
Mitchell were said to have planned the murder of George Mitchell in revenge for
the death of Creffield. Mrs. Creffield died suddenly, and an autopsy showed
that strychnine was the cause of her death. Esther Mitchell, then in jail,
denounced the coroner’s jury for terming it a case of suicide.
Morning Oregonian (Portland) 8/3/1914 p4
“Holy Roller” Girl Slayer Is Suicide
Esther Mitchell, Who Killed Brother, Who Slew Leader
of Sect, Ends Life Parole Granted in 1910 Tragic Death at Waldport Last Act in
Career Strangely Controlled by “Joshua” Creffield, Originator of Creed.
NEWPORT, Or., Aug 2.--(Special.)--Mrs. James N. Berry, formerly Esther
Mitchell, committed suicide last night at Waldport, Or., by taking strychnine. Mrs. Berry was married in this city a few weeks ago. she became notorious through her connection with the “Holy
Rollers” sect and her slaying of her own brother, George Mitchell, at Seattle
in 1906, after he killed “Joshua” Creffield.
She lived quietly in Lincoln
County since her release from the Steilacoom Asylum under the parole to the
Superior Court of King County, Washington, until her recent marriage.
Yaquina Bay News (Newport, OR) 8/6/1914 p1
An empty strychnine bottle
and an ordinary water glass at the laboratory of Dr. F. M. Carter, county
coroner is grim evidence of the manner in which Mrs. James K. Berry, formerly
Miss Esther Mitchell, came to her death at her home in Waldport Saturday evening.
Although the suicide
occurred Saturday evening complete details were not available in Newport until
the return Monday afternoon of Dr. Carter, who had gone to Waldport Sunday to
hold an inquest over the body.
The inquest was devoted
mainly in hearing the testimony of Mrs. Cora B. Hartley who, with her little eight year old son, were the only persons in the Berry house
at the time the tragedy took place.
Following is Mrs. Hartley’s
account of the suicide:
We were all gathered around
the supper table at 6:30 o’clock in the evening, Mr. and Mrs. Berry seemed in
her ordinary spirits and there was nothing in her actions to lead us to believe
that she contemplated ending her life. After the meal had been finished she
helped wash the dishes and assisted in dressing some chickens. Mr. Berry had
gone down town to help unload a boat.”
“Mrs. Berry went upstairs to
her bedroom at 9:30 o’clock. At about 11:00 o'clock I hear a cry of distress
from her room and rushing in found her in bed with the bed
clothes drawn over her. I spoke to her, asking if there was anything I
might do. She said “No.” I then attempted to turn her on her right side, but
she said, ‘You hurt me.’ ‘Let me go.’”
“These were her last words. About
15 minutes transpired from the time I heard her cry until she breathed her
last.”
“As soon as I saw she was
gone, I hurried from the house to arouse the neighbors. Mrs. O. V. Hurt was the
first to respond.”
“On a table two feet from
the bed was an empty strychnine bottle, with the cork out, near it a common
water glass. It appeared as if the poison had been dissolved in water, although
no water remained in the glass. A few undissolved strychnine crystals were in
the bottom.”
“Besides the bottle and
glass was a note addressed by Mrs. Berry to her husband. It read:
Dear James:
Please deed the two lots
over to mother and father. Give the piano and ring I sent away today to Martha. The silver watch to Attie. Signed: Esther.”
“P. S. Of course, this place
is now free from mortgage and is yours--also the little money in the bank.”
The bottle in possession of
Dr. Carter was labeled as containing one-eighth of one ounce of strychnine, whether the young woman took the entire amount
cannot be determined. The bottle held 60 grains of poison, while one grain is
sufficient to bring about death. It is not known where the poison was procured.
The bottle bears the label of a drug manufacturer in Philadelphia, but whether
she got the strychnine from there or somewhere else is not known.
Mrs. Berry was 26 years old
last January and was married about five months ago.
Interment took place in the
Fern Ridge Cemetery near Waldport Monday. Besides her husband, the dead woman
leaves a father, mother, two brothers and one sister.
Saturday’s unfortunate
occurrence adds another tragedy to the list of misfortunes which have followed
the Mitchell family since 1906. . . (the usual recap)
Lincoln County Leader 8/7/1914 p1
Newport
News came to Newport from
Waldport Sunday morning that Esther Mitchell Berry, wife of James K. Berry, was
dead. The investigation of the coroner’s jury showed the following facts: On
Saturday evening at the Berry home, about 6:30 the family, consisting of James
Berry, Mrs. Berry, Mrs. Cora Hartley and Kenneth Berry, the eight year old son
of Mr. Berry, were at the table. There was nothing unusual occurred in the
family. Mrs. Berry was cheerful and apparently happy. After supper Mr. Berry
went down to town and Mrs. Berry helped with the dishes and also helped to
dress a couple of chickens for dinner the next day. At 9:30 Mrs. Berry went to
her bedroom upstairs and about 11 o’clock Mrs. Hartley heard a noise up stairs
as though someone was in distress. She went up stairs and found Mrs. Berry
lying on the bed under the covers and in her night clothes,
in a spasm. Mrs. Hartley asked what she could do for her, and Mrs. Berry said,
“Nothing.” Mrs. Hartley then tried to turn her on her side and Mrs. Berry said,
“You hurt me; let me go,” and immediately expired. The coroner’s jury found the
body rigid, the arms drawn upon the breast and the fingers clenched; lower
limbs extended and rigid,, eyes, pupils contracted and
glaring; body warm, face and hands red. On the stand table two feet from the bed,
with a lamp burning on it was found an empty bottle that had contained one dram
(60 grains) of strychnine with the cork out. A glass with some undissolved crystals
of strychnine in it and it appeared as though water had been used to dissolve
the strychnine. It was evident from the condition of the body and the empty
bottle of strychnine on the table that Mrs. Berry had coolly and calmly planned
to take her own life. It could not be ascertained where she got the poison or
how much was in the bottle. Strychnine is a very fatal poison, is quickly
absorbed and if taken in sufficient quantity the respiratory muscles are
paralyzed and death occurs in a very short time. In strychnine poisoning the
muscles twitch, the limbs jerk, violent convulsions set in, the limbs are rigid
and death soon occurs. Mrs. Hartley gave the alarm and soon Mrs. O. V. Hurt
came and other neighbors and friends, after Mrs. Berry had passed away. Mrs.
Berry was paroled from the Steilacoom Asylum several years ago and place in the
care of O. V. Hurt, who was appointed her guardian. While in his care she was
treated as one of the family, everything being done to make her feel at home
and happy. She was a woman of nervous sanguine temperament, of refined, retiring disposition had had a very impressible
temperament. She was 26 years old last January. On recommendation of a
physician the parole was removed and about two and a half month ago Miss
Mitchell was married in Newport to James K. Berry and they afterwards went to
Waldport to make their home. Within the last few months Mrs. Berry complained
of feeling ill and it was noticed by her friends that she was failing in health
and losing flesh. The funeral services were held at the home of the deceased,
conducted by Rev. Cook, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Waldport, and the
Interment took place at the Fern Ridge Cemetery. Many
beautiful floral offerings were placed upon her grave by friends and many
tears were shed by those who knew her best. she is
survived by two brothers, Perry Mitchell, who lives at Ocean View, a brother in
Portland, and Mrs. Donna Starr, who also lives at Ocean View, and her husband.
(Newspaper Source and date
not written on photo-copy. The type style sort of
looks like the Lincoln County Leader (Toledo, OR) 8/?/14
Report of Coroner’s Jury
We, the jury empanelled to
inquire into the cause of death of Mrs. Esther Berry, wife of James K. Berry,
find after careful examination of the evidence produced, that Mrs. Berry came
to her death by taking strychnine administered by her own hand, with suicidal
intent. We further find that no blame is attached to anyone. J. W. Walker,
foreman, W. V. Leeper, S. L. Olsted,
O. N. Starr, D. E. Chesley, E. E. Everson, F. M.
Carter, Coroner.
The following note was found
on the table in the room where Mrs. Berry died:
Dear James: Please deed the
two lots over there to mother and father; give the piano and ring I sent away
today to Martha; the silver watch to Attie. Esther.
“P. S.--Of
course this place is now free from mortgage, and is yours, and the little money
in the bank.”
Yaquina Bay News (Newport, OR) 8/13/1914 p3
O. V. Hurt, the Republican candidate for county commissioner was in Newport Monday en route home from a trip out to Oregon City and Portland.
Chapter of Holy Rollers where these articles are some of the sources:
Chapter 30: Final Chapter
***
April 9, 1914: Esther Mitchell Marries James Berry
Chapter 30 From Holy Rollers: What Happened With The Rest of Their Lives
***
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)