This month I’d like to explore further, the documents mentioned in the new book by Professor Lyn Millner, The Allure of Immortality.
One of the criticisms of Cyrus Teed was that he was a charlatan. He may have been, but there is no real proof of this, only hearsay and media reports. Of course, the media in 19th century America is well known for its yellow journalism. Most newspapers never let facts get in the way.
Jeannie Fox Miller (date unknown)
Despite this, there were some rumblings and even lawsuits against Dr. Teed for alienation of affections. One such case was that of Sidney C. Miller and his wife Jeannie Fox Miller. Ironically, Sidney Miller was originally a friend of the Koreshans. His wife, who had become a follower of Teed, invited A.W.K. (Abie) Andrews and his wife, Jennie, to stay with them at their house when the Andrews family first relocated to Chicago. Sidney Miller became more and more uncomfortable with the Koreshans and when his wife moved out of the house, he used legal means to try and ruin Teed. There are a number of references to this both on our website and, of course, in Professor Millner’s book. When the Millers finally divorced, there was supposedly a requirement that none of the Miller children would be bared from partaking in any Koreshan actiity until the age of 14.
In 1892, the “Flaming Sword” ((1)) ran an article dismissing all of Sidney Miller’s claims. Here is a view of that article which appeared on page-1.
- January 6, 1892 – Volume-3, No.3 [↩]