Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1865-12-27
A SPIRITUAL REVELATION.
DEVELOPING MEDIUMS,
Three Children Poisoned
From the Detroit Tribune.l

From the Detroit Tribune.l
Last spring, Mrs. Leonard left her hus-
band at Ypsilanti and went TO Battle Creek,
taking with her five children, two by Leon
ard and three by a former husband. 1t seems
that she was a believer in the doctrine of
modern spiritualism, and was led to desert
her husband through instructions from the
spirit world. She herself possessed the pow
er of communicating with spirits, being, in
the variance of that sect, medium" By
advice from the same supernatural source,
she dropped the name of Leonard, and, be-
ing matriinonially Joined, according to the
ordinances in vogue in the spiritual world,
to her first husband, again assumed his
name. and called herself Mrs. Haviland.
When she reached Battle Creek with her
children, she had $500 in money, and set up
in housekeeping by herself About this pc
Rod, another character appears upon he
stage, in the person of DIR. Baker Of Adrian,
who was also a spiritual medium Of great
repute among his sect.
Doctor Baker boarded with Mrs Havi-
land. The house was great resort for spi-
ritualists, there being many of that sect in
and about Battle Creek, and "circles" and
"seances" we're the principal occupation of
the gifted doctor and his pupils; for it APP
pears that the Haviland house was sort of
| spiritual academy for the training up of
| female mediums through the superior knowl-
| edge and gifts of the doctor. A Miss Mer-
| rift. Of Ionia, a medium, was of the house
hold, and Miss Hadnas, Of Battle Creek,
| a Young lady of seventeen years Of age, was
a boarder in the family. She was develop
| ing her gifts, with the help of the other
| mediums, az a ''test medium" that is, the
veracity of spirits in general, and lOquacious
| once in particular, was tested through her
| superior gifts. Il was said that she "devel-
| oped" more rapidly than any test medium
| ever known in these parts, being quick-wit-
| ted and shrewd. This academy went on with
| swimming success through the summer and
| fall, and furnished incontrOyertables spiritual
| evidence for the conversion of the unbeliev-
| ing.
About four weeks ago the doctor borrowed
| 5000 of Miss Merritt and bought lot in
the outskirts of the town, upon which he
built his castle in the shape Of a board shanty
with one room. Into this shanty with one
room the doctor moved the three women
above mentioned, and the five children and
they all lived together, continuing to
develop the young lady as test me-
dunn.
The party were getting ready to travel
and astonish the world by public display of
their intimacy with the spirits. Mrs. Hav-
iland had procured place for the two chill
dren named Leonard, and had told the other
three that she would take care of them. On
Saturday afternoon last some children living
in the neighborhood were playing near the
shanty, when the two Leonard children
made their appearance. On being asked
where their older brothers and sisters were,
the said they were dead. The children
ran home and told their parents. Some of
them visited the shanty and found the re-
Por b. he true. The woman Leonard, alias
Ha .-. d, said that the youngest a gilr
age illr years, died on Thursday about
noe, E e second, boy aged six years, died
on fGday morning at ten o'clock; and the
third, boy about eight years old died on
Friday afternoon at five o'clock. Miss Mer-
ritz says she asked the doctor what they
should do with the children il they should
die, and he said he would make box and
barry tlem in his lot They claimed that
tie children died of scrofula. 1t was gen.
orally believed, however, that these medi-
ums, wishing TO travel and not be encum-
bered with the children, determined quietly
to romove them to a better sphere. Consid-
erinc that they could be with them and en-
joy their society quite as much in the spirit
ual world, without the inconvenience of tax
ing care Of them and providing them with
bread and butter and clothes, the plan, no
doubt, seemed very sensible one.
4 post morton examination of the bodies
Of the children was made by Doctors Cox,
French and Saunders, the result OF which
was that the children were healthy, and had
the appearance of having been poisoned.