Elijah Pierson, Introduction and Parts 1 through 4 Summary and Analysis

Introduction: Elijah Pierson was among the first members of Matthias's cult. He was a very unlikely candidate for much membership. In the 1820s he was one of New York's best-known religious reformers. He was involved in the Free Church movement and was a passionate evangelical in the Finneyite mode. Elijah and his wife Sarah were the model of domestic bliss, and were united in their passion for reform. Her death sparked Elijah's "madness" that drove him toward Matthias.

Part 1: Elijah grew up in rural New Jersey, rooted in a stern Calvinist tradition. His great-great-great-grandfather was Reverend Abraham Pierson, who was instrumental in establishing the Puritan colony of New Jersey in 1666. Subsequent ancestors settled near Morristown, where Elijah was born in 1786. Morristown was beautiful and prosperous, and Elijah was surrounded by family...