William Dorrell (March 15, 1752 – August 28, 1846) was an American new religious leader of the Dorrellites, a utopian sect located in Leyden, Massachusetts. He was also an early vegetarianism activist.
William Dorrell | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 15, 1752 |
| Died | August 28, 1846 |
Biography
edit
Dorrell was born in Yorkshire.[1] He became a soldier and went abroad to fight in the American Revolutionary War in 1775 under John Burgoyne.[1][2] He escaped after being taken prisoner at Saratoga. In 1777 he married Polly Chase and resided in Vermont.[1][2] Dorrell began preaching in 1794 and became known Reverend Dorrell. He founded a religious sect in Leyden, Massachusetts which became known as the Dorrellites.[1]
Dorrell preached a vegetarian message that was founded upon the principle that people should not eat animal flesh or cause the death of any living creature.[1][3] Members were forbidden to wear leather shoes or the skins of animals for any domestic purpose.[1][3] Dorrell and his followers wore wooden shoes and lived upon milk and vegetables.[4] Dorrell taught that people not need to pray, they must abide by God's laws and not any man-made law of the church or state.[1] Dorrell advocated a philosophy of free love and did not believe that a man and woman need to marry before sexual intercourse.[1][5] This caused rumours outside of the sect that Dorrell and his followers engaged in wild sexual activity. By 1798 some members left the community.[1]
Dorrell starved himself to death because he thought he would live forever if he continued to eat.[2] He died in Leyden on August 28, 1846.[6]
Dorrell's wooden shoes are located at the Memorial Hall Museum in Deerfield.[7]
Religious views
editDorrell believed he was a prophet sent to supersede the Christian dispensation and introduce a new one.[8] He did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus or last judgement. He held the view that no prayer or worship is necessary; there is no law but that of nature.[8]
The Dorrellites have been described as discrediting their own sect by their un-social behavior and strange beliefs.[2] They held the view that each generation had a Messiah and William Dorrell was the Messiah of his generation. Dorrell believed he possessed supernatural powers and that he could not be harmed by any man.[4] He retracted this claim after he was knocked down by Capt. Ezekiel Foster at a meeting and this resulted in the disbanding of the sect.[2][9] Zadock Thompson noted that because of this incident, Dorrell renounced his religious doctrines.[4] Dorrell admitted to his followers that he had duped them.[4][10][11]
Historian John Warner Barber suggested that Dorrell "did not believe in the Bible" and was "in the habit of occasionally drinking too much".[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i Iacobbo, Karen; Iacobbo, Michael. (2004). Vegetarian America: A History. Praeger Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 0-275-97519-3
- ^ a b c d e Who Was Who in America: Historical Volume 1607-1896. (1963). Chicago, Marquis-Who's Who. p. 154
- ^ a b Packard, Theophilus. (1854). A History of the Churches and Ministers, and of Franklin Association. Boston: S. K. Whipple. p. 251
- ^ a b c d Thompson, Zadock. (1842). History of Vermont: Natural, Civil, and Statistical. Burlington. pp. 202-203
- ^ Rogers, Barbara Radcliffe; Rogers. Stillman. (2004). Off the Beaten Path Massachusetts: A Guide To Unique Places. Globe Pequot Press. p. 172.
- ^ Holland, Josiah Gilbert. (1855). History of Western Massachusetts. Springfield: S. Bowles and Company. p. 391
- ^ "From the Display Case: Shoes from the Dorrellites, a utopian society". Greenfield Recorder. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ a b Gardner, James. (1860). The Faiths of the World: An Account of All Religions and Religious Sects, Volume 4. Edinburgh: A. Fullarton, p. 749
- ^ Nason, Elias. (1876). A Gazetteer of the State of Massachusetts. Boston: B. B. Russell. p. 296
- ^ The Dorrellites. Greenfield Gazette. 1892. p. 45
- ^ Kellogg, Lucy Jane Cutler. (1902). History of the Town of Bernardston, Franklin county, Massachusetts. 1736-1900. Press of E. A. Hall & Co. p. 189
- ^ Barber, John Warner. (1839). Historical Collections. Worcester, Dorr Howland & Co. p. 261
Further reading
edit- William Tyler Arms. (1959). The Dorrilite Years. In History of Leyden, Massachusetts, 1676-1959. The Enterprise and Journal.