The House of David (formally The Israelite House of David) is a religious group founded in Benton Harbor, Michigan, in March 1903. It was co-founded by spouses Benjamin Purnell (1861-1927) and Mary Purnell (1862-1953). The Purnells claimed to be the successors to Joanna Southcott (1750 –1814), an English woman who had built a following as a self-described religious prophetess. The community flourished in the 1910s, but declined and split in various factions in the 1920s, after Benjamin Purnell was accused of sexual immorality. Today, only a handful of members remain.