The protagonist, Israel Dammon (1811–1886), sometimes misspelled, e.g., Damman or Damon, was arrested during a loud, fanatical worship event at the farmhouse of James Ayer, Jr., in nearby Atkinson on 15 Feb. That snowy, Saturday evening of 15 Feb 1845, most of the 50-60 attendees at Ayer's farmhouse were Millerite Adventists who, less than four months earlier, had experienced disappointment that Jesus had not returned to earth, as they had anticipated.
[1] According to historian Frederick Hoyt, who first discovered and published the trial report from 7 Mar 1845 in the Piscataguis Farmer of Dover in Piscataquis County,[2] "Dammon had been charged with being 'a vagabond and idle person, going about in the town of Atkinson ... from place to place, begging,' being 'a common railer or brawler, neglecting his calling or employment, misspending his earnings,' and failing to 'provide for the support of himself [or his] family, and against the peace of the State of Maine, and contrary to form of Statute in such cases made and provided.
"[1] The court pronounced Dammon "guilty" and sentenced him to 10 days in prison, but his attorney appealed and managed to get the case dropped.
Aside from James' mute presence and uncertain involvement with Dorinda Baker, Ellen was the featured personality of the event, lying on the floor for hours receiving visions and periodically sitting up to deliver her messages that often called for various people immediately to be baptized so as not "to go to hell."
The confusion and chaos of the event and her central ecstatic role in the reception of visions while lying on the floor and sharing the hell-fire messages with those present, all far from her supposed mission of confronting fanaticism, were conveniently ignored.
In a debate with Dudley Canright, still a Seventh-day Adventist at the time, Grant claimed that he had correspondence from Israel Dammon asserting that he had rejected the validity of White's visions.