Edmund Creffield (also known as Franz Edmund Creffield, or Franz Creffield) was known for establishing the Christian cult he named the Bride of Christ Church, sometimes referred to as the "Holy Rollers" in Corvallis, Oregon in 1903. He became famous and later infamous for the alleged practices of his church and his uncanny prediction, one day before it happened, of the destruction of San Francisco, California on April 17, 1906 in the San Francisco Earthquake.[1]
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Creffield claimed he had direct communication with God, and referred to himself as "Joshua II". Initially held in private residences, his sermons would lead to public scandal when it was alleged that he held midday services in homes with women in attendance, while their husbands and fathers were away. Creffield’s ability to have women cancel their engagements to be married, prevent married couples from having sex, and have others drop out of work or school, was proof of his charisma. Creffield was known to preach for 24 hours straight at a time, driving his followers to writhe on the floor seeking God's forgiveness. His later sermons focused on the idea that members of the church needed to reclaim the innocence of the Garden of Eden by means of nudism. There were also mentions of the coming apocalypse, which he hinted would be seen in their lifetimes.
Creffield preached that one of the church's female followers would become "the second mother of Christ."[2] Creffield deemed himself the father, and chose Esther Mitchell, a 17-year-old follower of his, to be what he called the "Bride of Christ" incarnate. Creffield then purchased a small island that resided somewhere in the Willamette River to start work on building what he said would become a new religious colony. A photo of Edmund and his female followers working on this compound in the nude reportedly led to outrage among the men in nearby Corvallis.
Despite a lack of evidence, the shocking nature of the rumors of nudity led many to assume that cult leader Edmund Creffield was having sexual relations with the women of his church. The sheriff of Corvallis had Creffield examined by local doctors, witnessed by a judge and city attorney, who found him legally sane. Media coverage spread as the incendiary nature of Edmund Creffield's preachings and methods became more known and rumored.
A group of local men formed a vigilante group referred to as the "White Caps," who organized a tarring and feathering (a procedure in which a group of people drench a person in tar and cover him with bird feathers), and ran Edmund Creffield out of town.[3]
Creffield moved to Portland, Oregon. Married and charged with adultery, Creffield hid from authorities under his wife's porch for months before serving a 15-month prison sentence. Upon his release, Creffield moved to San Francisco and encouraged his former followers to do the same, but did not see much success. It was in San Francisco that he cursed the city on April 17, 1906. The next day was the San Francisco earthquake. He moved to Waldport, Oregon and said his followers should come there or meet the same fate as those he had cursed in San Francisco, this time with much more success largely due to his previous curse.[4]
Edmund Creffield was nearly assassinated in Waldport by an unknown Corvallis, Oregon man, possibly a member of the "White Caps" vigilante group, but the pistol the man used misfired. Bolstered by the failed assassination, which some followers took as evidence of his so-called "divinity", Edmund Creffield moved himself and the followers of his cult again to Seattle, Washington. It is assumed he did this to move farther away from those who wished him dead.[5] George Mitchell, the brother of Esther Mitchell (the 17-year-old girl whom Edmund Creffield had said would be the "Bride of Christ" incarnate), followed Creffield and his followers to Seattle, and shot Creffield behind the left ear on a street corner, killing him. Mitchell was tried for the murder of Edmund Creffield, but was later acquitted of the crime. Shortly after he was acquitted, Mitchell was in the process of boarding a train when suddenly his sister Esther shot him in exactly the same way, killing him. Esther was then sent to an insane asylum and later committed suicide.[6]