Start Date

4-20-2017 9:00 AM

End Date

4-20-2017 10:30 AM

Disciplines

History of Religion | United States History

Subjects

Edmund Creffield (1867?-1906) -- Trials litigation etc., Cults -- Oregon -- History, Church of the Bride of Christ -- History

Abstract

This paper outlines the story of a religious cult from Corvallis referred to as the “Holy Rollers” and led by Franz Edmund Creffield. I researched the causes for his followers’ behavior from 1900 to 1907, relating the investigation to the press, people, and social roles surrounding the sect. Because his following was dominantly female, hysteria was the popular argument during the early twentieth century. To explore these claims, I researched the possibility of insanity in these women and why they may have agreed to all of Creffield’s ridiculous demands, as well as why the public responded the way they did.

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Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/20014

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Apr 20th, 9:00 AM Apr 20th, 10:30 AM

An Examination of Franz Edmund Creffield and the Holy Rollers, 1900-1907

This paper outlines the story of a religious cult from Corvallis referred to as the “Holy Rollers” and led by Franz Edmund Creffield. I researched the causes for his followers’ behavior from 1900 to 1907, relating the investigation to the press, people, and social roles surrounding the sect. Because his following was dominantly female, hysteria was the popular argument during the early twentieth century. To explore these claims, I researched the possibility of insanity in these women and why they may have agreed to all of Creffield’s ridiculous demands, as well as why the public responded the way they did.