Robert Matthews (religious impostor)
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Robert Matthews (1778–1841) was a United States religious impostor whose aliases included Robert Matthias, Jesus Matthias, Matthias the Prophet, and Joshua the Jewish Minister. He is remembered today chiefly for his brief encounter with Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Matthews began his career in New York City, where he succeeded in convincing three wealthy merchants named Mills, Folger, and Elijah Pierson to give him a great deal of money and the deeds to two houses, in exchange for "promised abundance in the kingdom of heaven." Folger went bankrupt and in 1835 had Matthews arrested and briefly incarcerated for obtaining money under false pretenses. Matthews, along with his servant Isabella (later known as Sojourner Truth), was accused of murdering Pierson, but was acquitted.
Upon his release from prison later in 1835, Matthews traveled through Ohio, and on 9 November of that year he paid a visit to Joseph Smith under the pseudonym "Joshua the Jewish Minister." The two discussed resurrection and reincarnation. Matthews claimed to be both God and the reincarnation of the apostle Matthias; he also said he was a literal descendant of Matthias, and that transmigration of the soul typically went from father to son. False rumors circulated that Matthews had joined the Mormons, but in fact his meeting with Smith ended with the two prophets denouncing each other as Satanic.
[edit] References
- Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz, The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th-Century America, New York: Oxford University Press, 1994 (ISBN 0-19-509835-8) Review.
- William Leete Stone, Matthias and his Impostures- or, The Progress of Fanaticism (New York, 1835) Internet Archive online edition (pdf format, 16.9 MB, entire book on one pdf)
- Gilbert Vale, Fanaticism - It's Source and Influence Illustrated by the Simple Narrative of Isabella, in the Case of Matthias, Mr. and Mrs. B. Folger, Mr. Pierson, Mr. Mills, Catherine, Isabella, &c. &c. (New York, 1835) Google Books online edition (pdf format, 9.9 MB, entire book on one pdf or one page per page)
