Amos Norton Craft (July 7, 1844 - August 30, 1912)Brill, H. E. (1938). ''Story of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Oklahoma''. The University Press. p. 130 was an American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and early

skeptic Skepticism ( US) or scepticism ( UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

writer. Craft was born in

Mecca, Ohio Mecca (also called East Mecca) is an unincorporated community in Trumbull County, in the U.S. state of Ohio. History A post office called Mecca was established in 1825, and remained in operation until 1904. The community was named after Mecca, i ...

, on July 7, 1844.Crafts, James Monroe. (1893)
''The Crafts Family: A Genealogical and Biographical History of the Descendants of Griffin and Alice Craft, of Roxbury, Mass. 1630-1890''
Gazette Printing Company. p. 775 He married Alice Alvira Judson on March 10, 1863. They had four children. Craft graduated from

Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a private liberal arts university in Alliance, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until 2019. It had an enrollment of 2,100 students as of 2023. Histo ...

in 1865. He was a minister of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

. In 1878 he settled in

Oil City, Pennsylvania Oil City is the largest city in Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States. Known for its prominence in the initial exploration and development of the petroleum industry, it is located at a bend in the Allegheny River at the mouth of Oil Cre ...

. Craft obtained a PhD in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

from

. He is most well known for his ''Epidemic Delusions'' (1881). According to skeptic

Daniel Loxton Daniel Loxton (born 1975) is a Canadian writer, illustrator, and skeptic. He wrote or co-wrote several books including ''Tales of Prehistoric Life,'' a children's science trilogy, and '' Abominable Science!'', a scientific look at cryptozoology. ...

the book is a "critical gaze over spirit mediums, end of the world panics, bogus religious relics, witch-hunting manias, haunted houses, clairvoyance, and mesmerism. Again and again he hammered home the point that paranormal claims rest upon arguments from ignorance." Craft died on August 30, 1912, in

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,050 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Meadville is withi ...

.''Alumni Catalog 1915''
Mount Union college.

Publications

''Epidemic Delusions: Exposé of the Superstitions and Frauds Which Underlie Some Ancient and Modern Delusions''
(1881)
''Exodus From Poverty: Or The Other Economics''
(1914)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craft, Amos Norton 1844 births 1912 deaths Methodists from Ohio American skeptics Critics of parapsychology University of Mount Union alumni

Publications

See also

References