Elijah Pierson (30 August 1786 - 6 August 1834 ) was a successful American businessman and preacher who is best known for his later involvement with the religious leader
Robert Matthews ( sometimes called "The Prophet Matthias").
Life
Pierson was born in
and was raised as a religious perfectionist Presbyterian, believing in God's direct interaction in the world in correlation to individual or collective sins. Around 1800, he moved to
New York City and began to work as a clerk and later as a merchant. He remained unmarried, working on
Pearl Street as a merchant, until 1822 when he met Sarah Stanford. The two were married and became heavily involved in mission work on
Bowery Hill and
Five Points, rejecting Yankee Presbyterian in favor of egalitarianism and
retrenchment. After eight years of marriage, Sarah died from what was reported as overwork, causing major her husband's mental health. During her funeral, Pierson attempted to raise her from the dead, declaring himself "Elijah the
Tishbite
Tishbite is a demonym predicated of the Prophet Elijah in the Hebrew Bible. Scholars dispute the precise denotation of the word.
The words of 1 Kings 17:1 are usually rendered as "Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbe in Gilead". As translated into E ...
". His distress over the will of God helped Robert Matthews persuade him to help fund his "Kingdom" in 1832.
Death and aftermath
On July 28, 1834 in
Sing Sing, New York, after eating several plates of blackberries, Pierson died of what was reported as poisoning. Robert Matthews was accused of poisoning Pierson and the case became extremely popular in the local penny presses.
In 1835 Matthews, along with his housekeeper Isabella (later known as
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Baumfree; November 26, 1883) was an American abolitionist of New York Dutch heritage and a women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to f ...
), was accused of murdering Pierson, but was acquitted due to lack of evidence, and Truth's presentation of several letters verifying her trustworthiness as a servant. The trial then focused on the reported beating of his daughter which he was found guilty of. The trial which lasted four days, resulted in a sentencing of three months and thirty additional days for contempt of court.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierson, Elijah
1786 births
1834 deaths
Businesspeople from Morristown, New Jersey
Christian revivalists
19th-century American businesspeople