Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-03-31

Charles 7, Rosma was obtained. ana Tia
| spirit said ne was ucddicr who had
! been murdered in that house few years
! before.
Soon afterward the Fox family re-
moved ~ Rochester. y. a.. ana the same
| their now home, but only when Gather
| inc or MarGarctta VAS present Iiy using
the letters "A The alphahei in the manner
! already indicated. the FoX sisters said
| that they found 4 great nu;nbcr Of DO
| parted spirits who desired to converse.
| with them and 70 use them as 4 medium
! friends.
At length the alleged spirits communl-
| Gated to the Fox girls their desire that
| there should hr held a public meeting. I'd
| son by the audience. should determine
| whether they Were genuine spirits and
produced their so-called lnifestatione
| without human did.
such mccting WAS accordingly hcld at
| Corinthian haN. Rochester. y. y, in No
! Ncmhcr. 1919. Tho FoN sisters appeared
| ON the stage ana the spiritual phtuom-
| cna being, freely manifested were invcS-
| ti@attd bN q committee nf prominent gen
| demen. vino, after continuing their re
! searches for several days, reported their
aid.
The fame Of Tho Fox sisters was now
| national, and when they appeared in New
| York IN the following May announcing
| themselves rs 'Spritu1l mediums" II
phrase which originated with them. they
! created an intense fGrore. These Two
| young girls had thus founded 4 new
| faith. ~ which they save the name of
| Spiritu1liSm.
| Humble AS was its origin ana insigniii-
| cant MS was the character OF its first
| manifestations, it soon found multitude
| "A believers in both hemisphercs. Spir-
| itual mediums soon Sprung up an aver
| the country ana Were soon multiplied BIZ
| hundreds ana even by thousands
~ better evidence n the power ~ the
! its perpetuity could possibly be desired
| than the fact that even its announcement
| As the SEalluWrSt rimSeSt. humhuggcry
! by those who founded ii. ana their state
| ment that ID is IN out ana ont fraud
| originated by two little girls solely in a
| spirit OF mischief have been powcrless to
| overthrow or even to shake il.
| But believers in SpirituaiiSm now 70 far
| back beyond the FOX sisters for the ori-
| gin OF their faith. 50 long ago as the
| seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
| there We're many persons Who prOfrSSed
| ~ he under To direct guidance OF the
| Divine spirit ana VINO may. i'll that sense.
have been called spiritualists Those
| same individulls also claimed to he in
| full ana open communication with thu
| spiritual world ana To hold daily CONVEX
sations Of the most familiar character
! with spirits and with angels.
! prominent among such mystical think
| crs Were Jacob Bonnie Or Bnchmen Spen-
| cvr. J. Godfrey Arnold. John William Pc
| terson. John Albert Bcngel Heinrich Jung
| Sitting. MINI. GUyon. petingcr ana SWe-
denhorG. The last named. when on hi;
| dtathbci in I112. predicted that in about
! ~ years from that Zinc there would be
| general revelation from the spirit world
| which would bring his teachings into gen.
| eral notice and confirm their truth. a pre-
| dict1pu which. ii is claimed. WAS fulfilled
| i'll ms Just - years after the death Dt
| Swedenborg. by til" manifestations OF
spirit mower which We're then made in
| Hydcsville ana which soon attracted Gcn-
| eral attention throughout thc world.
/ Besides the prediction Of SwedenborG.
the birth of modern spirituaiism was
| twice urnph"sicd. In 1>i3 some members
| Of the shaker communities al New Lc-
| b3nOn ana Watcrvlirt. y. ". seemed to
| be under some strange psychological in
| flucnCC. which threw them into % trance
| state. While in that condition they de-
! iVcred Long discoUr+rS in the names uf
eminent men Of hyg"ne ages. by whose
| spirits they said they We're po+S, sStd.
After thes" manifestations had oontin-
ucd for nearly a year the spirits babe the
brethren a solemn adicu. telling them ID
say nothing to the worlds people Of what
! had passed. bat To treasure il in their
| hearts. and promising that in q few years
| they would return ana show tn the whole
| world the same manifestations which
they revealed to q chosen few of the
pious members of the Shaker c0mmuni-
iii that same ycar. 1S43 onc Andrew
jackson Davis. Il poor. ignorant. country
! lad in the employ If a farmer Of Orange
county. New York, was mcsmerizcd into
| 4 trance state hN unc William Living
| stone. ana ever attprWlrd seemed To have
me r9Wgf oil E3S1 iill INTO Suyn i fom
!ot ~ VII ,11 iiinu5,i ~ 80 - ~ r
indt iii MUM bir i, NJ III ;
II ,i' i't ,1 VIII II +iti MN
Siitr' " ''ltl5lcu u'"I I t' Ir; ~
itlEclPl,g 81 N"SEit i'fi Ifn1,inI
IolS' 'rl ", ,,t,i,,,i1i nngricoi
lIdI Hill nj, i ii
theol9GlCal Ii'LI TIT ;'li ,[ ..J ,''
IN tilI5 WI WIN ~ ,,ld mi1Ii
ncailon "l,n tiiV 800 i,"'i W. ~ Iiin,
ere long ASSUME iht 4uiH oi III
demonoiratGr, i prophecy Whi e,!i AIR, I'M
spir1tulhSLs ht.tEg e ny { ptGn i lu.Iii''"
-. II .,,i,.ifs - Tho SbaLnre hv the mani
MI i, mndnrn snirituaI
ism it, most improbable feature, ana that
which tends most laTSeY to LrlnE II INTO
dliic.iI, %',i ,n.,iimms tho shirts If Inc
dead have power To communicate with
relatives and friends "h" nave mot 49, re-
i ietl Io 81 diTactIv withIut recurring the
| ;,,+,r,.anti.u NJ a third prrsOn who was