New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-01
uMATTHIAS THE IMPOSTOR."
A FALSE PROPHET IN WESTCHE0lHN
SIXTY YEARS AGO.
,,,s rpr.r FOR MURDER WAS ONE OF THE
OTIS CASES OF THAT GENERA
HIS FANATIcAL REIGN IN
MOUNT ZION

" 80 r,,as h.ean the trial OF Robert Mat
thevs otherwise known as Mat'hi"S' az
nostor" charged with murder IN haN"'h .hair
his friend and benefactor. Elijah fleFso"' " ~
common home in the town OF NOUN. - c,
kror.n nc Mount Zion near the village OF ons .'''e
,rh ,,a1 lasted several days and attracted 'a'Ae
attendance 4 great mass of testimony was "'
ducad nv the prosecution. but 1t was All "a "
say character the medical experts not CIV .
ing that Plerson had died from uh"a'"'"'
Tho Court instructed the jury mat mere ""'
audience showing that the death of Mr.. ferSo" '''
becn caused by poison, and IN '"e 49,,
sufficient evidence to prove that deaih n"u Da 49,
r., ,,,roblo neglect or ill-treatmcnt, IL duN'so' ~
,,,,,a, Tho turv. thoreupon. returned Ve'u'0'
Of not guilty - .,oo ,,,is trial
More than sixty years have nassen SIM w
ono. famous In the judicial history OF '"e Gun
Nattblas and his dupes have long since TAM" ''''
icos IN the silent world and the very slotS u
,he i,rnoetures has faded from general reco''e0"
and knowledge. For many years the ora
c,, oa,etoers in mentioning Sing Sing' "c'e'
,.uoa - ,ote that the village was remarkapic i''
,,o things. The state prison. ana loi oo'I7 "
scsre of some of the Matthias impos'ures' p"| 90
,,ze,ecrs have long been back nuio-i' o'0"
way Of perpetuating the memory OF ''' i -
,bo. has passed away and PLAIN ta'e u '"'
and his doings may not, at this ume' p'oNe ''''"
tcresting. uo,,biaa
r,l, uo,,bsvs otherwise known as Matthlas'
- ~ :, tho town OF Cambridge. washington
county Y Y in 1870. His parents were p''P'
yood repute OF Scotch extraction. hopei' was
an orphan at carly age ana was xon
family Of a farmer. At tweniya ne went !" ,.
York CITY, whore he learned the CarPc''" ,,,s,',
Incoming nrst-cass mechanic. fro" o
he was noted for strong religious ihc'iha''os @''1
v,ho, very Young he joined the Scotch Preso' '""
cburcb NJ which he was long most exemplary
member He married, in lSl3, young "o' -
daughter OF a Scotch mechanic. ana after sumo
wears residence in the city ana IN MS ''""'-
coun,v during which ~ experienced po'h Du9-".sS
prosperity and final diversity. he removed 70 A.
Inn, in 1877 where Matthews first began to &C, IN
an irrational manner concerning religious su'Jc0"'
HE BECAME a WANDERING JEW.
=, ~. courso ~ two or three years Matthews
roiieious enthusiasm became so great that ne neg
ioc,oJ his business and devoted MS time 10 st'e''
nr.,chlng which he did in most Vocierou7 man.
nor exhorting his audiences upon Temperance anu
r.li~ion In l>io he left his wife and five chi4u''"
IN Albany declaring that the city was doomed 10
immediate destruction FOR its w'kedness' ana "e''
We, lie travelled through Arkansas. Mississippi
ronncsse. and Georgia being mprisonel ioF sI'''
time in the last state. II vas upon ms Jo"'"'f
that he assumed the name OF MaVh'as ana ''A''''
that he was Jew. contemporary "'''' '""s
dascr,hes his utterancos and manner Of speaking al
ina, tne. lie had read tho Bible much paft'n-
l,rlv the O,d Testament. and he poured forth quo
,,tious In great profison but without method. h'-
ness or adaptations rendering lis sunNnes' p'Ssds
I'm, confused ana incoherent tumble OF words ana
oils and ends Of sentences. and yet there "dS o''
a shrewdnoss In some Of his sayings. particularly
IN renly 10 questions or some occasional repartee
which raised a laugh and convinced his misce'-
l,ncous auditors that he was less Of FOOL than
kn,v. Bu, from tho Wild screams ana PIERCING eN-
Carnations in which ne INDUCED In MS mcoHp'c-
henslblc orations he became nuisance OF "hl'h
the people had great cause for complaint
From Georgia Matthias iourneyed noTth"lrd' ana
na.slng through Washington. came 10 New-fork
where no lived for some time in great poverty
Eventually he made the acquaintance Of three or
FOUR wealthy men as wealth was considered j"
those DAYS who were remarkable for great creiu'iN
strong religious compartment ana woful lack %
c,nfnor-sensr In a short sine Matthias obtained
cor1piee con roi over the minds Of these mon ana
their families They became moral slaves 70 this
Insane enthusiast accepted MS foolish assertions As
in-nort,! truths and OF his proselytes after
war! wrote when convinced OF his error, beHeVed
that Matthias VAS the Spirit OF Truth when h"a
d.sapp-arel from tho. earth nj the death OF the
Matthias mentioned in the New Testament hut had
returned IN him: that he was III" same Matthias
risen from the dead and animated b. the spirit OF
Col"
\ RELIGIOUS COXCOMB.
From early youth Matthews had always been
vain ~ his pcrsonal appe irance and his new friends
literally supplied him with means to clothe hiinseir
I'm the most costly apparel on bright afternoons III
the summer OF 1892 when the Battery VAS sure 10
be ,hronscd by fashionable loungers 70 Kill an lille
hour and by thousands Of people inhaling the IN
vlgor,ilng ocean breezes Matthews would frequent
~ exhibit himself 10 the multitude. though not eN-
actly mngl.ng In the throngs. Selecting wei MS
hour for attracting the greatest attention he woud
arrive at the battery gate II superb dAr
carriage drawn by a hne tcam OF horses
ana accompanied by one o. his prose!ytcs and the
latters children. Descending from the carriage
with dignity and delib'rauon he would take th-
children At either side. and then. with stately ana
until having made a sufficient exhibition OF his
CORY. he would retire with the gravity WIN whl'h
he came. In person he was tall ana "eH-male' a.
though ver thin IN height Just feet IL Inches, ms
gait was somewha, awkward. and his movements
eyes Of a cold Hight gray, and hair ami beard ionS
thick coarse and originally dark brown bui IN laer
Inclined to curl and covered his breast TO the deph
Of nearly ten inches below the neck lie wore tnick
a black cap OF AIanned leather, conlcal In shape,
with shade. irock coat seneralX OF nne Srf,n
walls, was a sash Of crimson SIX HIS panta'oons
"crr either Of speen or pTH 'o,n an" na 81 n m
same apparel. and for special ceremonies ne wore
robes OF rich design and material
HIS HAVEN OK MOUNT ZION"
In 1888 Matthews left New-York. going the
home Of one Of his proselytes named Benjamin l..
Folger, in the town of Mount Pleasant near Scar
borough a suburb Of Sing Sing and In a short time
assumed compete control of the establishment
Another inmate of the house and follower OF the
irnpostor Elijah Pierson, whose death subsc
quently Vas attributed to Matthew's agency. The
impostOr named the place Mount Xion' and de-
clared that II the nucleus around which WAS
be built the new kingdom of God. Upon the
ground that ministers devils. unauthorized TO
perform marriage or other religious ceremonies he
remarked, III his own way, MIR. and Mrs Folgcr
lie spent their money freely purchased all the sup
plies for the house. dictated the manner in which
the meals should be cooked beat the servants
punished the children, and finally whipped In a cruel
manner his married daughter. who had come down
from Albany visit him, because she had dared TO
per nit one of those devils minister TO perform
the wedding ceremony for her. The extent OF Mat
thews's power at Mount Zion can be appreciated
when 1t is known that the house and lands were
de@ded to him BY the owner subject TO a mortgage