Frank Sandford, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Frank Sandford

American religious leader

Date of Birth: 02-Oct-1862

Place of Birth: Bowdoinham, Maine, United States

Date of Death: 04-Mar-1948

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Libra


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About Frank Sandford

  • Frank Weston Sandford (October 2, 1862 – March 4, 1948) was an American religious leader, preacher, and religious extremist, who attained notoriety during the Pentecostal Era as the founder and leader of "The Kingdom". Sanford was born in Bowdoinham, Maine to a farming family.
  • In his thirties, he gained exposure to premillennialism, the Higher Life movement, the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, and divine healing.
  • In August 1891, after executing a successful exorcism and hearing the voice of god in a forest warn him of "Armageddon", he established a supernatural closed commune called the "Shiloh" in Durham, Maine.
  • Commune members were forced to pray hours-on-end, fast, and obey his orders absolutely.
  • After commune members disagreed about his biblical interpretations he instituted a chain-of-command where he ruled limited by only God and Jesus Christ.
  • After a final divine intervention, he declared himself the earthly incarnation of the prophets Elijah and King David, and founded "The Kingdom"–an apocalyptic Christian sect. Considered by former members and many neighbors to be an autocrat who insisted on unquestioning loyalty, Sandford regularly starved his followers causing deadly outbreaks of smallpox, diphtheria, and other infectious diseases.
  • The death of 14-year-old Leander Bartlett lead to his conviction of manslaughter and cruelty to children in 1904.
  • Due to religious laws at the time, a 1905 Maine Supreme Court ruling reversed his convictions.
  • After the ruling, he sailed to Jerusalem on multiple missionary voyages.
  • In 1910, he traveled aboard the Kingdom, to Africa with more than seventy men, women, and children.
  • In March 1911, the Kingdom went aground and was destroyed off the coast of French West Africa which inspired Sandford to sail to Greenland to create a mission station.
  • Knowingly sailing without sufficient food or supplies, six crew members contracted scurvy and died upon his return to Portland. He was detained by authorities upon docking and sentenced to seven years in Atlanta U.S.
  • Penitentiary.
  • While he was in prison, letters sent to his followers were reprinted en masse and distributed among the commune.
  • In 1918, he was released on good behavior and returned to the "Shiloh", resuming his responsibilities after previously attempting to install his son, John, as leader.
  • However, two years later, the death of another commune member saw to "The Scattering".
  • After the commune was evacuated by law, he moved to New York's Catskill Mountains to be closer to God.
  • On March 4, 1948, Sandford died, which prompted his body to be secretly buried by followers, and all of his belongings burned in various house fires.
  • His absence retarded the growth of his small sect; but it survived, in attenuated form, into the 21st century with the creation of the Kingdom Christian Ministries in 1998.

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