The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-08-11
HE SENDS A LETTER BACK
FITS FOLLOWERS TELL OF THEIR
PECULIAR BELIEF.
THEY THINK THEY WILL NEVER DIE
Marriages Are Made in Heaven and Earthly
Marriages Must be Broken up When
People Become Sanctifed,

The Rev. Jacob Jones, who was beaten
in Oberlin last Friday night for preach-
inc his free love doctrine and living up
TO his faith, mas departed from among
his faithful flock.
He went rather hurriedly, too lie dld
not even take time to gather together all
of his ministerial robes, his books ana
the notes for his sermons. His haste
was due to a fear of being either lynched
or again beaten Saturday night. Ana
this fear, l am told by one Of the con-
.spirators, was well grounded.
They were preparing to take him out
to a neighboring wood and give him
such a fiogging as he would not soon
have forgotten. But the two women
with whom he had been living almost
continually for more than year, spirited
him away and he few to the bosom OF
his devoted wife and children IN Dur
ham.
That the sanctifed parson is sufficient
ly amused at this first white-cap expert
ence is attested by the following letter
Yesterday received from him by the News
and Observer:
..Jesus was left alone with the woman,
I wish and pray to be just like him
But when Lynched in your county
called for the spirit of such men as L.
G.. Cammoron who Away said correct
him and let him live. If you don't know
Jesus you know p G. Cammoron. You
all know he plead for us to live and eat
there was none of us so low that we
could not get servent place and sit
with You all in church. My Father and
Mother always taught me to honor white
people under all circumstance. In This
place while Fighting for life against
number larger than my self L wished
some such white men had been where
they could have heard me hollow murder.
The bows said the Preachers of Raleigh
and best citizen colored was to there
back. Jesus was left alone with the wo-
man. / humblely appeal to the consti-
tutional citizens of \. G.. to fall on y0ur
nees pray for the spirit of Z. G. O., cor
rect me and let me live o-a a1a
my Mother is an African and said to
me we begged to be slaves to be de-
livered from each other. / would have
loved to have belonged to any white man
while those boys had me. l thank God
that is not the whole population of col
.ored. Jest the Thoughts of it not being
all does me Good all over. Jesus was
left alone with the woman. 0, to be like
him. The first fight / ever had, hope il
will be the last. kicked so hard it made
my leaders sore.
REV. j. D. JONES,
''of Durham"
Protection has been promised the par
son by Justice of the Peace Nichols,
am told, when he comes to the trial next
Monday.
/ went out to Oberlin yesterday to in
quire more particularly into the parsons
theology. The first colored citizen l met
told me that the "carryin's on of the
"band'' had been so 'oncommon distress
ful'' that he had not taken the trouble
to inquire into the particulars of theil
beliefs or disbeliefs. Among these out
siders the parson seemed to get little
sympathy.
eff / wus a jury" said one black
burly fellow, whom one would never
suspect of being a guardian of female
virtue, "I'd never convict one err them
fellers what damned old Jones, unless
the charge agin the boy wus fer not
whippin' him enough"
Others, who had heard him preach, told
me that he preached that people who
become sanctiied don't have to die
Jones claimed that he was sent of God
special revelations given him in dreams
and that he is divinely commissioned by
God to curse out sin. He was often heard
to declare in his sermons that all people
not believing with him are damned
hell-cats, puppies and sluts," and that he
couldn't place them low enough. Marri-
ages, he preached, were made in heaven;
those made on earth are earthly and
therefore sinful. People that are sane
titled cannot sin. The sanctifed are
moved by the spirit of God, to him they
must submit their wills, overcoming even
the love. of husband, children and par
ents, forsaking all and doing the will of
the spirit. The sanctifed must come
out from among the unsanctifed. Earth
ly marriages must be dissolved, il they
exist, and spiritual unions, formed.
This, am told is about the sum and
substance of the Holiness doctrine as
preached by the Rev. DIR. Jones. And
as followers of this faith he had six
women: Cornelia Grant, head leader;
Triphena Afford, lieutenant; Armelia
Holden, Emma Baker, Maria Moore, and
Easter Sheppard.
1t was with the first two that he lived.
They denied that the free love doctrine
went to the extent of criminality, and
said that the great central truth in the
Rev. Jones' preaching was life-the sane
tilted cannot die, unless they lose faith.
"You don't mean that you expect to
live foreverT' / asked.
Il do" said Cornelia, bringing out a
large notebook, the property of Jones,
and filled with Bible references, arranged
in alphabetical order. THAT'S just what
Bro. Jones breaches, and what he saws
believes, and what he orders l does"
'EverythingT / asked.
Everything, for he is sanctifed and
holy and he can neither do wrong nor
tell me to do wrong, and I'm holy and
l couldn't do wrong if he were to tell
me to do So"
"And you expect to live always?''
II do unless lose faith. The Bible