Mary Stallard Purnell

Mary Stallard Purnell (born Mary Stallard; November 13, 1862 – August 19, 1953), sometimes called Queen Mary, was an American religious leader and writer. With her husband, Benjamin Purnell, she co-founded the Israelite House of David, a Christian Israelite communal sect established in the early 20th century. The community, based in Benton Harbor, Michigan, practised communal living, vegetarianism, celibacy, and distinctive grooming and dress customs. After Benjamin's death and a leadership dispute within the colony, Purnell founded a separate community, Mary's City of David. The new colony operated a vegetarian hotel and restaurant and became a religious community and vacation resort during the Great Depression. Purnell led the community until her death in 1953.

Biography

Early and personal life Mary Stallard was born on November 13, 1862, near Nickelsville, Virginia, to James Alderman and Winnie Davis Stallard. Her father, a conscientious objector during the American Civil War, fled to neutral Kentucky when she was three months old and later brought his wife and children to join him.

In August 1880, she married Benjamin Purnell, a Kentucky broom-maker, in Aberdeen, Ohio. He had previously been married, had a daughter from that marriage, and had filed for divorce, though the proceedings were not completed. Their daughter, Hettie, born in 1887, left home at 16 and was employed at a store in Fostoria, Ohio, where she died in a shop explosion.

Israelite House of David

In 1902, Mary and Benjamin began publishing The Star of Bethlehem in Fostoria, Ohio, and formally established the Israelite House of David. They claimed to have received a divine calling, called the "Visitation" or "spiritual graft", while affiliated with a Jezreelite group in Detroit. They presented themselves as the Seventh and Final Messenger in a prophetic tradition associated with 18th- and 19th-century British religious figures including Richard Brothers and Joanna Southcott, and sought to unite Christian Israelite groups, including followers of John Wroe and James Jezreel.

Celibacy was practised, although marriage was allowed. Men kept long hair and beards. Modest dress was expected, and women typically avoided makeup and wore their hair long. Mary, who was known to followers as "Queen Mary", remained the spiritual leader of the City of David until her death.

Death Mary died on August 19, 1953, at age 90 in her apartment at Mary's Shiloh in Benton Harbor. Her death was kept private for two days. She was first interred at Crystal Springs Cemetery, and her remains were reburied in January 1954 at the City of David grounds, in a mausoleum on the east lawn of the colony headquarters.

Selected publications The Comforter: Brief Discourses by Mary (Benton Harbor, MI: Israelite House of David, ) A Letter from Home: To One Who Wanted a Special Letter from Sister Mary, Not a Form Letter (Benton Harbor, MI: Israelite House of David as Re-organized by Mary Purnell, ) Mary and Benjamin's Travels (Benton Harbor, MI: Israelite House of David as Re-organized by Mary Purnell, 1931)