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Scripture are about to be accomplished; that the day of the return of the Jews is at hand, and the glorification of the restored
Jerusalem. He is to witness this; he and a favorite dove with which he travels; and he forsook home and comfortable country house, in order to make this journey. He has no other knowledge of Syria but what he derives from the prophecy; and this (as he takes his office gratis) has been considered a sufficient reason for his appointment by the United States Government. As soon as he arrived, he sent and demanded an interview with the Pasha; explained to him his interpretation of the Apocalypse, in which he has discovered that the Five Powers and America are about to intervene in Syrian affairs, and the infallible return of the Jews to Palestine. ... I doubt whether any government has received or appointed so queer an ambassador.
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to change religions, that he claimed Christ was a Negro, and that he had seen angels during his circumcision. Many prominent citizens, including four doctors, testified that, on the contrary, Cresson was perfectly sane. An expert witness Col. Browne testified that the roots of
Cresson's hair had none of the abnormalities that were certain indicators of insanity. The judge told the jury that religious convictions were not to be taken into account in determining sanity. The jury found Cresson to be sane.
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Cresson appealed this decision, and the trial, which went on for six days in May 1851, became one of the famous cases of the time. Eminent counsel were retained on both sides and nearly one hundred witnesses were called. Cresson's wife presented an array of charges that included
Cresson's propensity
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missionaries in
Palestine, he was incensed to find that his wife had converted to Episcopalianism. In addition, a major family dispute over money erupted. In 1849, his wife and other family members applied to have him declared a lunatic incapable of managing his own affairs. One of the accusations
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January 31 1815, as a minor, he is apprenticed (probably to the
Elliott family of Darby & Kingsessing) to learn farming; and is listed in the records of the records of the Darby Meeting. He moves on to the care of the Chester Monthly Meeting May 27 1817. (Hinshaw Index, Darby Monthly Meeting,
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and sent a circular from
Jerusalem soliciting assistance for his projects. Though interspersed with theology and quotations from the Bible, the circular is one that only a practical farmer and educator could have produced. Cresson believed that the prevailing distress could be relieved by the
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He expects to see the millennium in three years, and has accepted the office of consul at
Jerusalem, so as to be on the spot in readiness. ... He was a tradesman, who made a considerable fortune, and lived at a country house in comfortable retirement. But his opinion is that the prophecies of
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that
Cresson was "a very weak-minded man and his mind, what there is of it, quite out of order". Nevertheless, Cresson continued to claim the rights of a consul until 1846, even though the US minister Constantinople confirmed his lack of credentials. He used a fake consular stamp to provide
234:, in which he deplored the extravagance and evil tendencies of the times, and exhorted all Quakers to lead a better and less wayward life. He went through a period of strong religious upheaval, joining a series of sects that appeared to him to represent true religion.
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Jewish woman, Rachel
Moledano (or Moleno or Moleano), with whom he had two children, Abigail Ruth and David Ben-Zion. David died before Cresson, while Abigail died in the cholera epidemic of 1865. He lived the life of a pious
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and adopted the name
Michael Boaz Israel. The circumstances of his conversion provoked a dispute over whether a convert should keep the laws of Shabbat in the interval between circumcision and immersion in the mikveh.
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In 1852, Cresson returned to Jerusalem and actively supported efforts then being made towards Jewish settlement in Palestine. In the fall, he announced his intention of establishing an agricultural colony in the
373:] of Philadelphia—An American turned Jew—divorced from former wife—married a Jewess &c.—Sad." It is generally believed that Cresson was the model for the central character Nathan in Melville's epic poem
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Cresson probably died on October 27, 1860, though some documents give slightly different dates. Vice-consul Lazarus Murad was later dismissed for attempting to steal Cresson's estate.
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was that he planned to rebuild the Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah. A jury of six found him guilty, though he was apparently never incarcerated.
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parents John Elliott Cresson (1773–1814) and Mary Warder (1776-1863). He was descended from Pierre Cresson, one of the early settlers of
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Cresson returned to the United States in September 1848. Having been bitterly opposed to the conversion activities of
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establishment of agricultural colonies, and that oppressed Jews from all parts of the world should return to Zion.
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Yehiel Cohen and the next chief rabbi, Elyashar. In 1848, against the wishes of the Chief Rabbi and
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In 1821, Cresson married Elizabeth Townsend, with whom he had six children, and ran a farm in
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Dreams and Diplomacy in the Holy Land: American Consuls in Jerusalem in the 19th Century
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563:"Quaker, Shaker, Rabbi: Warder Cresson, The Story of a Philadelphia Mystic"
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621:""Insane on the Subject of Judaism": Pursuing the Ghost of Warder Cresson"
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435: This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
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The summing-up of defence lawyer Horatio Hubbell Jr. was published in
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Babylon the Great Is Falling! The Morning Star, or Light from on High
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719:. The Magnus Press and Wayne State University Press. p. 256.
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rescinded the appointment only 8 days later, after being told by
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455:. Vol. 4. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 354–355.
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in 1844, only to have the appointment rescinded 8 days later.
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protection to persons not eligible for American assistance.
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In 2013, Cresson's lost gravesite was rediscovered in the
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On May 17, 1844, Cresson was appointed American consul at
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Abraham J. Karp (1958). "The Zionism of Warder Cresson".
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491:"Warder Cresson: From Shaker to Quaker to Orthodox Jew"
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261:, the first person to hold this office. However, the
664:. American Jewish Historical Society. pp. 1–20.
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153:(July 13, 1798 – October 27, 1860), later known as
567:The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
473:Consulate General of the United States - Jerusalem
848:Consuls-General of the United States to Jerusalem
245:. Cresson was also influenced by the writings of
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413:Jerusalem, the Center and Joy of the Whole Earth
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647:Notes on a Journey from Corntill to Grand Cairo
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469:"Former Principal Officers and Consuls General"
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220:21 march 1819, transferrs to Byberry Meeting
717:American Consuls in the Hold Land 1832–1914
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441:Adler, Cyrus; Friedenwald, Herbert (1903).
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751:"The Fight for American Religious Freedom"
649:. Chapman and Hall. pp. 189, 226–227.
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288:While in Jerusalem he became close to the
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695:The Occident and American Jewish Advocate
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515:. Syracuse University Press. p. 176.
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230:In 1830 he published a pamphlet entitled
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591:. New Academia Publishing. p. 116.
419:The Key of David; David the True Messiah
331:in 1863, with comments by Isaac Leeser.
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691:"The Lunacy Trial of Warder Cresson"
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397:The Two Witnesses, Moses and Elijah
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677:"The Mystery Convert of Jerusalem"
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56:1844 – 1848 (unofficial)
838:Expatriates in Ottoman Palestine
813:19th-century converts to Judaism
775:. Shapell Manuscript Foundation.
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241:and became deeply interested in
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587:Charles Stuart Kennedy (2015).
385:Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery
730:Hasson, Nir (6 October 2013).
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625:The Jewish Quarterly Review
407:The Good Olive-Tree, Israel
311:Return to the United States
193:Warder Cresson was born in
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511:Arnold Blumberg (1985).
253:First visit to Palestine
823:American Sephardic Jews
452:The Jewish Encyclopedia
335:Later life in Palestine
174:Mikha'el Bo'az Yisra'el
789:at Political Graveyard
449:; et al. (eds.).
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479:on 21 September 2015.
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225:Gwynedd, Pennsylvania
421:, Philadelphia, 1852
415:, Philadelphia, 1844
304:converted to Judaism
247:Mordecai Manuel Noah
589:The American Consul
155:Michael Boaz Israel
715:Ruth Kark (1994).
561:Frank Fox (1971).
352:Cresson married a
263:Secretary of State
598:978-0-9906939-7-0
443:"Cresson, Warder"
342:Valley of Rephaim
277:William Thackeray
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237:In 1840, he met
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163:מיכאל בועז ישראל
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108:Pennsylvania
104:Philadelphia
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808:1860 deaths
803:1798 births
498:stevens.edu
179:U.S. Consul
140:, Jerusalem
797:Categories
778:Cresson's
426:References
189:Early life
97:1798-07-13
68:John Tyler
354:Sephardic
290:Sephardic
259:Jerusalem
217:page 45)
183:Jerusalem
168:romanized
124:Jerusalem
61:President
52:In office
645:(1846).
300:Beth din
211:New York
736:Haaretz
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295:Chacham
243:Judaism
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409:, 1844
403:, 1844
401:London
375:Clarel
207:Harlem
203:Quaker
159:Hebrew
754:(PDF)
494:(PDF)
445:. In
302:, he
593:ISBN
114:Died
91:Born
42:1st
370:sic
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181:to
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
