Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-08-29
PLAGUY PILGRIMS
Who Claim that They are Able TO
Cure Diseases by the Laying
On Of Hands,
And Who Indulge i'm Orgies that
Shame the Excuses of the
MOrmOns OF Utah.

- 49, SNAAc Va WV
ship and social tenets bear so close a
resemblance TO those of the Nor
mons and Free Lovers that, I'M
less some check is given to the growth of
the sect, ii seems probable they NAV make
as much noise at Erwin, their headquar-
ters, as did Joseph Smith andhis followers
at Nauvoo. The founder of the body,
which now has a membership of over 800,
and is building Il temple, is Caleb Ander-
son Obenshain. He is an ex-Methodist
preacher, forty-ive years of age, of medium
size, and OF remarkably handsome face
and commanding figure, which, combined
with q persuasive e~lOquence II powerful
personal magnetism, made his eXhorta-
tions successful from the beginning. He
began work as an orthodox preacher, but as
he introduced innovations i'll the way Of doc-
trine and form, the conference gave him his
choice between seVering his connection
with the Methodist Episcopal Church or
abandoning the new faith which he had
begun to propagate. He became an apos-
tate, and while, for the time being, he lost
ground through the detection of his Metho-
dist followers, he oon found a means of
awakening fresh interest and gaining new
hearers and followers.
Obenshain announced to the people that
Rayburn, another minister,
who had also been forced from the con-
ference on account of his departure from
orthodoxy, was a man sent from God to
bring them to the light. The newcomer
was welcomed and proved valuable addi-
tion to the propaganda department OF the
pilgrim Band" as the new society had
come to be known. The Pilgrims o
came to accept Rayburn as their deity, and
in the praise-songs the word God" is
omitted and the word Rayburn substi-
tuted. For instance, instead OF Jesus is
a rock in the weary land, they sang Ray
burn is a rock etc.
Up to this point outsiders had made no
attempt to interfere with the Pilgrims, but
this was going too lar, and threats began
to be freely made that the tabernacle
or tent in which the band met would be
destroyed and the occupants mobbed an
less the meetings ceased or were conduct
ed with more propriety. The tabernacle
was pitched near Erwin, OF the place of a
prominent farmer, who, seeing trouble
brewing, ordered Obenshain to remove it.
Obenshain declined to do so, stating that
the tent had been placed there by Gods
will, but in a spirit of unbelief the farmer
one night chopped down the tent-pole and
dragged the canvas tabernacle into the
highway. The Pilgrims had him arrested
and fined, and, assuming h rOte of mar
tyrs, which gained them much sympathy
from the simple farming folk, they enter
ed with renewed zeal upon their meetings,
which gradually began to show the faint
which has since brought the Pilgrims un-
der the suspicion Of being Mormons or
worse.
One of the earliest innovations practiced
by both Obenshain and Rayburn was the
alleged healing of the sick by faith and
| PRAYER. their claims of accomplishments
in this direction exciting the indignation
of those who saw clearly through the
fimsy pretense. Then came a divine reve-
latioa to Obenshain that the band needed
a house of worship, the site of which was
later revealed to a sister in a vision. The
farmer, however, upon whose place the
house was to be built insisted that both
revelations were of satanic origin, and re-
fused to grant the land required. Finally,
Postmaster Stoffer, of Erwin, gave them a
lot. Soon after this Obenshain had an
other vision, in which he was instructed
to raise a temple on the lot, and h Pill
grims were ordered to consecrate their
worldly goods to God-that is, to subscribe
to the building fund. They came down
handsomely. A farmer named Friday
gave over 1000 dollars, and a poor widow
named Mrs. Unger drew all her money,
about 300 dollars, from the bank and
handed it over to the prophet-an act
| W IlICh CdIISCO lit lililShdlNlOh lit"h
aroused among the people to boil over.
There soon cropped out unnistakable
evidences that the Pilgrims were begin
ming to favor the 'free-love' II spirit
ual wife" dogmas, an attendant at one OF
their secret services making discoveries OF
a most horrible nature, showing that these
were simply orgies of unrestrained pro-
miscuity. Obenshain's previous career
was looked into, and ii was ound that he
had discharged the excellent woman who
had been his wife for a spiritual wife"
in the person of a pretty yoIng servant
girl who had lived in the house with the
family. His real wife was brought to him
and besought him, for the sake of their
children, to abandon the other woman, but
he declined, and stated that their children
were 'Of sim" for they had married in
darkness" This was lot the only spiritual
consort of the prophet, who, at one of the
meetings, announced that he had had {
vision in which God told him there was t
be born in Erwin this year a new prophet
who would dictate to the world, and ht
(Obenshain) was to be its father. \ few
nights later one of the married sister,
arose in the meeting and remarked that i
had been revealed TO her that she was t.
be the mother and Obenshain the father
Of the expected prophet, an announcement
Nv NNNlNt AhN ui4hsllllACo aDBlON u
of all present, the woman's husband, whC
is also a Pilgrim, not excepted.
These things finally aroused the com
munity, and on July 3D. last, a more thai
usually large crowd gathered to watch tn,
performances of the Pilgrims, whose spas
modic contortions while under the iniu
ence of visions never failed to provide
great amusement to unbelieving onlookers
a casus beM arose, and the crowd wrecked
the tent and cleared out the occupants
about go in number, i'll all directions
One of them, James Ingels, made an at
tempt to protect the Pilgrims property
but a young man named Fred Perry bea
him and drove him off. Obenshain wa
last seen that evening escaping, with hi
original spiritual wife on one side of hin
and the woman who is to become tn,
mother Of the prophet on the other, Will,
her husband brought up the rear. Th'
next morning his hat and his Bible wcr,
picked up near the scene of the conflict
The result of this affair, which create,
great excitement at the time, but was KEEP
from the public, was the arrest of Georg,
Davis, William Davis, William Hoffman
Thomas Elder, Silas Boiling, Fred Perry
James Ayers, Squire Irwin and Georg,
NARROW, on charges of riot, disturbing
religious meeting, and assault. They wer,
/ AANANA " = lfA any WV AloS Aho0 liIt =
disposed of by Judge Bagley, Of Schuyle
county, who fined the defendants ten dol
lars and costs each.
The fact of The matter is, the Pilgrims
who now number over 300, many of then
among the most influential and wealth,
families in Schuyler county, are a power
full organization, and it is doubtful whethe
they will ever again be disturbed, o
whether they are not already as solid AM
compact, if not as wealthy, a body as tn
older communities OF like nature in tn,
past. They have nearly completed thei
temple, which is being erected on a well
drained lot in the northeast part of Erwin
and is 4 handsome structure. Its mai
room has a seating capacity of 400, Will
there are also prayer-rpoms, secret meet
ing chambers, a Kitchen, bedroom, etc
There is no lightning-rod, nor has an in
surance policy been invested in, the Pill
grims trusting solely in God" as tn
prophet says. The building has alread,
cost over 5O0l dollars.
In an interview Ohenshain, who cited
number of cases Of alleged miraculou
cures by the laying on of hands by him
self and Rayburn, defined the doctrine 0
the new Church as follows: Eve believ
in God, the Bible and the Holy Ghos,
Our creed differs very little from that O
Methodists, who are our most bitter Oppo
nents; in organization we differ, for we d
not record our converts. When one pre-
fesses, he is baptized and accepted as Q
God. He is a member thereafter. On
bishop we accept as from God. Raybur
is our bishop now. We have no churcf
trials or troubles, but We welcome ever
one and nave a God bless you for all. ]
members lose faith and choose to leave US
we let them 60 and that ends it. We ar
accused of free love and ~SpiritualisIn, bu
it is false. We are also accused OF loOs
morals and wrong doings, and yet we cal
not act so and also retain our hea
ing power. There is a fellowship bt
tween two religious souls that tn
world knows nothing OF, and il
this fellowship they call looseness. We II