Who are the Puritu?

Beginnings & Excommunication

The nature of the Puritanism is that of individualism and separatism.  So it is only natural that within Puritanism, itself, there would be separation.  Minority groups of Puritans were upset by the reformations that took place and tried to usurp that powers that be.  They were unsuccessful and excommunicated from the New England.

Jonathan Allister (1639-1689) was at the head of this rebellion with a group of about 40 others.  After they were excommunicated, there was uncertainty as to where they should go.  In 1665, the group found themselves moving to the western frontier in the area that would later become Kentucky.  For the time, this allowed them a safe distance from New England, where they could, more-or-less, go unnoticed and unbothered by the church stronghold to the east.

The group came to call themselves the Church of Puritain Traditionalists.  They added the "i" to the spelling, conforming to early spellings of Puritan, which later dropped the "i".

On the Kentucky frontier, Allister's Traditionalists created a secluded, self-reliant community that practiced extremely strict and traditional forms of the religion.  However, their community was so strict and so isolated, that they soon realized their numbers were decreasing and they were not bringing any new believers into the fold.

In 1689, Allister cut open his hand while chopping wood.  What seemed a minor wound, led to an infection.  When faced with amputation, Allister declined, ultimately, his arm became gangrenous and the infection killed him.

The declining population of the Traditionalists looked to, their former leader's son, Nathaniel (1659-1723) to lead them.  Nathaniel felt the small community had two options: seek to grow their congregation or disband and assimilate into Christian society.  The group felt the latter was not a real option, but didn't fully realize the threat of returning to the public eye to convert and recruit new members.

The younger Allister sent the 30 remaining members out to preach and indoctrinate others into the Traditionalist fold.  This was not an easy task, and Nathaniel felt certain they were being punished for failing God.  In his journal he wrote, "It is not God who has abandoned us, but us who have abandoned Him. Somewhere, our path became blind to the will of our Lord. We must make right our wrongdoings and on bended knee beg forgiveness for our crimes against heaven, for as of this time, all of us our doomed for damnation.  The spirit of the devil rises strong against us for surrendering Massachusetts rather than fighting in the face of wrong. We willingly surrendered the name of God. For this, we may not be forgiven."

Essentially, Nathaniel Allister blamed his father for not making a stronger stand against the reformists. His naivety was soon proved wrong.

While Nathaniel's congregation sought new members in Kentucky and Virginia, Nathaniel ventured back to New England, hoping to make amends with the Puritan church.  He arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in May of 1692, unaware of the severity of the events happening in the community at the time.  He sought out an old friend of his father's, one George Burroughs, which he soon found to be a regretful decision. Back when the elder Allister left in 1665, it was Burroughs who had encouraged him to stay and move forward with reformation. Allister and Burroughs had occasionally written letters, always remaining friends.  When Allister died, the letters stopped without explanation, until Nathaniel arrived on Burroughs' farm in 1692 -- a visit that would ensure the permanent exile of the Puritain Traditionalists.

In his visit, Nathaniel was only able to speak briefly to Burroughs. They were soon interrupted by a local magistrate.  Nathaniel Allister later wrote, "Burroughs welcomed me as a son, then immediately told me it was a poor decision to return. A decision that could be very costly to both of us.  As he began to explain to me about accusations of heresy, the Magistrate appeared and reprimanded me for speaking to the husband of a heretic.  Burroughs and the Magistrate exchanged vicious and unholy words. The magistrate then asked who I was. Burroughs made an attempt to interject, and to lie, but I was too proud and felt all of us would be better served in the eyes of the Lord in my honesty. The Magistrate clutched at his heart and gasped when I said, 'I am Nathaniel Allister, son of John Allister, I have come to seek amends with the church on behalf of my father who has recently entered the Kingdom of our Lord.'  The Magistrate assured me that my father was dining at the table of the Satan and not even in final judgment would he enter the Lord's Kingdom.  He also said it must be the heresy of my family that has brought the current blight of devilish plague upon Salem. He backed away from Burroughs and me, all the while assuring that he would soon return with a warrant for my arrest.  With a final gesture, he pointed at me and cried, 'You are the heretic at the edge of the Virginia frontier. We have been checking in on you time and again. But you have gone too far now, bringing your devils to Salem. We will seek you out and destroy you, devil. We will destroy you."

Nathaniel would later learn that his family friend was executed due to the accusations of heresy. Burroughs would, however, gain a degree of infamy for reciting the Lord's prayer at his execution, something witches were supposedly unable to do.

When Nathaniel and the other missionaries returned, they discovered their home had been recently burned out. Destroyed and decimated.  It appeared as though a raid by the natives was the result, but further inspection revealed that this was an attack with the sole purpose of destruction.  Nothing was gone, but the homes were destroyed and all religious documents that had been left behind were destroyed, too. In his journals, Nathaniel, wrote that he feared further repercussions from the church to the east, which he held responsible for the attacks.

Nathaniel decided that it was time to move west, again, this time to the territory that would become Missouri.