Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1894-11-05
THE SANCTIFIED BAND.

The trial of the Sancti6ed Band of
Chiucoteague Island was resumed in Ac-
comac county court Saturday. The court
house was again filled to over6owing
with an anxious crowd. Joseph B.
Lynch, Sarah Collins, John Collins and
VIM. Chandler, the ringleaders of the
band and defendants in the case, were
put on the witness stand. Lynch, who
is the leader of the band, gave long
account of the doctrine of his sect, and
denied that they taught or encouraged
immortality. He claimed to be so pure
and holy that he could commit no sin.
He gave an account of how the sect
originated. They all belonged to the
old side, or Northern Methodist church.
They asked the conference for holy
sancti6ed preacher. The conference
failed to send one, and they withdrew
and organized the "Holy Sanctified
Church of Chincoteague Island"
He had put his wife away, and took
Sarah Collins as his fellow. worker, be-
cause he was not married to his wife by
the law of God. His relations with
Sarah Collins, he said, were pure.
Lynch's testimony was weak, and he
was badly "rattled" by the counsel for
the prosecution.
Sarah Collins, Lynch's fellow worker,
and the leading woman in the sect, was
next examined. She is about % years
old, with black hair and eyes, and not
bad looking. Lynch is 53.
She and her husband had agreed to
put each other away, because they had
not been married according to Gods
word, which says, "Seek first the king
dom of heaven and his righteousness !;
and all things shall be added unto you"
Sarah thinks people ought to get sane
tilted before they get married other
wise they are not married according to
Gods word. She denied that she or
any other member of the sect taught or
practiced immortality. She vigorously
defended the Sanctified Band, and said
she lived ir the loveliest neighborhood
she had ever known. She proved to
be bright witness, and showed DO EN-
| barrassment.
William Collins, Sarah's husband,
and John Chandler, the other two de-
PENDANTS, and eight other witne 'ses for
the defence were examined. No new
facts were brought out by them. All
these witnesses, men and women, con-
feSsed that those who watched together
hugged each other, but denied that they
had ever done anything wrong. The
Bible had commanded them to salue
each other with holy kiss.
Parker Bowden had gone to watcl
with Bloxom's wife, and Bloxom had
knocked him down, and when Lynch
iDterfered Bloxom had knocked him
down, too. Bowden left, and never
went to Bloxom's house again. Some
of the women had had two or three fell
low-work ers, but only one at time.
These men had fallen from holiness
and the women ceased to work with
them.
Among the witnesses for the defence
was Lynch's wife, mild-faced woman,
about 55 years old. She and Lynch
had put each other away three yee1s
ago. Her fellow-worker lives in Della
ware. He comes down two or three
times a year to pray read the Bible,
and study with her. She agreed to
leave her husband because she was
persuaded that they were not married
according to the Scriptures. She spoke
kindly of her husband, who still sup
ports her; but the old woman said she
had heard Lynch say he would have his
right arm cut off before he would live
with her again as man and wife.
Ali these witnesses were subjected to
a raking cross examination by Common
wealth's Attorney Fletcher, who drew
from them many damaging confessions
and contradictory statements. 1t ap-
peared from the testimony that man
always took somebody's else wife for
his fellow-worker, and that the woman
taken was invariably younger and bet
ter looking than the one put away. The
court adjourned at sunset till to-day.
Ten more witnesses for the defence are
to be examined.