George W. Higgins
Encyclopedia
George W. Higgins was an American
minister of the Holy Ghost and Us Society. He was probably the last person in New England
to be subjected to the traditional mob-led humiliations of tarring and feathering
and riding the rail
. The incident occurred in Levant, Maine
, just outside Bangor
in 1899, and resulted in the trial of 29 members of a mob numbering about 150 persons.
Higgins was from Calais, Maine
. The Holy Ghost and Us Society was a millenarian religious sect founded by Frank Sandford
, and headquartered at Shiloh Temple
in Durham, Maine
. Sandford encouraged his followers to donate all their property to the church and live communally at Shiloh. As a missionary for the Society, Higgins had made about 15 converts in the town of Levant, including some prosperous farmers who had been induced to give up their property to the church. Known locally as 'Higginsites', the sect was blamed by townspeople for the suicide of an elderly blind woman who was one of its members, and for administering a beating to a child whom Higgins had claimed was possessed by a demon.
Two of Levant's selectmen asked Higgins to leave town, which he refused to do. A mob of about 150, some of whom were masked, dragged Higgins from the house of disciple Ruel Clement one night in 1899, stipped him naked, covered him with hot tar, and applied a coat of chicken feathers. He was then ridden to the edge of town on a wooden rail, and left there with the warning not to return. He did return to Clement's house, however, and Clement's complaint to the Sheriff of Penobscot County led to the arrest and trial in Bangor
of 29 people, many of them 'solid citizens' of Levant.
In 1901 Ruel Clement contracted typhoid and died without taking medicine or seeing a doctor, believing his faith would cure him. Higgins returned to Levant to conduct the funeral.
U.S. Senator Frederick Hale
of Maine recounted that when he challenged the Ambassador of China over the bad treatment received by some American missionaries in that country, in 1899, Ambassador Wu brought up the "Levantine Affair" (Higgin's tarring and feathering) as a counter-example of domestic religious intolerance, leaving Hale speechless.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
minister of the Holy Ghost and Us Society. He was probably the last person in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
to be subjected to the traditional mob-led humiliations of tarring and feathering
Tarring and feathering
Tarring and feathering is a physical punishment, used to enforce unofficial justice or revenge. It was used in feudal Europe and its colonies in the early modern period, as well as the early American frontier, mostly as a type of mob vengeance .-Description:In a typical tar-and-feathers attack, the...
and riding the rail
Riding the rail
Riding the rail was a punishment in Colonial America in which a man was made to straddle a fence rail held on the shoulders of at least two men, with other men on either side to keep him upright...
. The incident occurred in Levant, Maine
Levant, Maine
Levant is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,171 at the 2000 census.-History:Originally called "Kenduskeag Plantation", the town was founded in 1802 by Maj. Moses Hodsden, who built 3 houses, a sawmill, a grist-mill, a store, and a blacksmith shop in what is now...
, just outside Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
in 1899, and resulted in the trial of 29 members of a mob numbering about 150 persons.
Higgins was from Calais, Maine
Calais, Maine
Calais is a city in Washington County, Maine, United States. The city has three United States border crossings or also known as a Port of entry with the busiest being on the St. Croix River bordering St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada...
. The Holy Ghost and Us Society was a millenarian religious sect founded by Frank Sandford
Frank Sandford
Frank Weston Sandford was the founder and leader of an apocalyptic Christian sect, informally called "Shiloh" and eventually known officially as "The Kingdom." Sandford was early attracted to premillennialism, the Higher Life movement, the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, and divine healing;...
, and headquartered at Shiloh Temple
Shiloh Temple
Shiloh Temple is a historic religious building in Durham, Maine.The Temple was built in 1897 by Frank Sandford, the charismatic leader of the controversial "Holy Ghost and Us Society", which encouraged its followers to sell their worldly possessions to the church and come and live at the Shiloh...
in Durham, Maine
Durham, Maine
Durham is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,419 at the 2000 census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan New England City and Town Area.-Geography:According to the United...
. Sandford encouraged his followers to donate all their property to the church and live communally at Shiloh. As a missionary for the Society, Higgins had made about 15 converts in the town of Levant, including some prosperous farmers who had been induced to give up their property to the church. Known locally as 'Higginsites', the sect was blamed by townspeople for the suicide of an elderly blind woman who was one of its members, and for administering a beating to a child whom Higgins had claimed was possessed by a demon.
Two of Levant's selectmen asked Higgins to leave town, which he refused to do. A mob of about 150, some of whom were masked, dragged Higgins from the house of disciple Ruel Clement one night in 1899, stipped him naked, covered him with hot tar, and applied a coat of chicken feathers. He was then ridden to the edge of town on a wooden rail, and left there with the warning not to return. He did return to Clement's house, however, and Clement's complaint to the Sheriff of Penobscot County led to the arrest and trial in Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
of 29 people, many of them 'solid citizens' of Levant.
In 1901 Ruel Clement contracted typhoid and died without taking medicine or seeing a doctor, believing his faith would cure him. Higgins returned to Levant to conduct the funeral.
U.S. Senator Frederick Hale
Frederick Hale
Frederick Hale was a politician from the U.S. state of Maine, representing the state in the United States Senate from 1917 to 1941. He was the son of Eugene Hale, the grandson of Zachariah Chandler, both also U.S. Senators, brother of diplomat Chandler Hale, and the cousin of U.S...
of Maine recounted that when he challenged the Ambassador of China over the bad treatment received by some American missionaries in that country, in 1899, Ambassador Wu brought up the "Levantine Affair" (Higgin's tarring and feathering) as a counter-example of domestic religious intolerance, leaving Hale speechless.