17
Miss McClure assured the Judge that she is now Glorious Golden
Glow, Princess of the Rising Sun, and not a peasant girl that
people thought her to be. She asked that the Judge give her a
million dollars out of an enormous estate she claimed was held
for her at the court house. After examination by doctorsr it was
decided to send the unfortunate woman to Chattahoochee for
temporary treatment. It was said she had been attending
spiritualist meetings until she decided she was reincarnated into
a new being of the spirit world and started out to use her
imaginary wealth to help unfortunate people. She was returned to
her home at the colony to await the arrival of a nurse from the
state institution."

And, in the KISSIMMEE VALLEY GAZETTE of August 17, 1923, there is
the story of the finding of the body of Benjamin Franklin, "an
aged victim of suicidal mania" from the waters of Alligator Lake.
"Three weeks before the old man had been before the court and an
insanity commission. It is said that he lived at the Shaker
Colony for eight years, up until three or four months ago.
Lately he had a room in a St. Cloud rooming house. Complaint was
made because of his mutterings and morbid writings on suicidal
subjects." He was examined by an insanity commission composed of
two doctors and the sheriff. One doctor said he had not con-
sidered Franklin dangerous nor fit for confinement. The other
two both maintained that he was crazy and should be in an insti-
tution. However/ they consented to sign his release when the
judge received Franklin's promise that he would return to his
people in the north who would care for him. The sheriff thought
he might be picked up by the police somewhere on his way north.
The newspaper quoted one of the doctors as saying that "the
Shaker religious belief does not consider it wrong to end one's
life if suffering and burden seem the only part of living left.
This might have caused him to take his own life, but would in no
way prove insanity." No family members were located so the
funeral home took care of the burial.


SABBATH DAY LAKE, MAINE

Brother Arnold was most gracious in responding to my inquiry by
telling me what is available in their records. Unfortunately,
journals are lacking, in some cases due to fire. In 1828,
Elizabeth Whitman Pierce, aged 63, "became feeble in health which
affected her mind and she imagined it to be an act of wickedness
for her to eat any kind of food feeling, as she often expressed
it, unworthy to partake of the blessing of God. Evidently they
tried to feed her to no avail."