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“To dismiss Spiritualists as a "lunatic fringe" is to ignore the significant ways in which their faith reflected the values of Victorian America. Every practice or idea developed within Spiritualism was an extreme form of an idea already afloat in American culture.”
- Ann Braude, Radical Spirits (2001)
“He [John C. Dalton, M. D.] says: ‘My life has been emphatically a happy one. Not free, of course, from the natural vicissitudes. Although neither a Swedenborgian nor a Spiritualist, I enjoy communion with near and dear friends, who ·from time to time have gone to enjoy the nearer presence of their Creator.’”
- A Memorial of John C. Dalton, M. D. An Address Delivered before the Middlesex North District Medical Society, April 27, 1864, by John O. Green. M.D. Lowell
Spiritualism, defined here as the belief that living people can communicate with people who have died, grew in popularity in the United States from 1848 through the 19th century and spiritualist organizations continued into the 20th century.
Google Ngram for “Spiritualism”, “spiritualism”, and "SPIRITUALISM".
March 31, 1848 is often set as the beginning of the Spiritualist movement. This is the date that the Fox sisters first claimed that mysterious rapping sounds were communications from the spirit world. This event was the trigger for the rapid increase in popularity of the movement; however, many of the beliefs and ideas of the movement had already taken root.
Google Ngram for the term "Modern Spiritualism"
MORE THAN RAPPINGS
Google Ngram for "Spiritualism" (all cases) and "rappings" (all cases). This Ngram lends support to the idea that Spiritualism was more than the Fox sisiters and rappings.
Lowell was one of the locations with the highest levels of spiritualist activity in the country, especially in the third quarter of the 19th century.
From - The Rise of 19th-century American Spiritualism, 1854—1873. David K. Nartonis.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, June 2010, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 361-373.
In the table above, locations 1 - 9 together, with Lowell at number 3, contributed about half of all the public meeting activity between 1859 and 1866 found in the Nartonis (2010) study.
Spiritualism, perhaps inevitably, became a subject for hucksters, charlatans, and con men and con women. Sometimes the frauds and tricksters swindled vulnerable and distraught people and sometimes their deceptions were primarily for entertainment value. There were also people who believed or were at least open to the possibility that spirits could communicate with or impart wisdom to the living. Most believers did not claim to be mediums, but were only curious and wanted to explore the possibilities presented by these beliefs.
While Lowell attracted plenty of the tricksters, it was also a center for those with sincere beliefs or curiosities about the concepts of Spiritualism.
Lowell had a good supply the factors that led to the growth of spiritualism in the 19th century.
Spiritualism wasn’t just seances. There were inquirers, questioners, seekers, the interested, the curious, the skeptics, and those looking to entertain and be entertained. Spiritualism was a broad spectrum of views with nothing approaching an orthodoxy, doctrine, or religion. Many saw themselves as genuine inquirers or “investigators”, looking for scientific evidence and empirical proof of the immortality of the soul by establishing communication with the spirits of the dead. As opposed to being creepy, Spiritualism was in many ways more optimistic than many of the beliefs of the era. Huge changes, discoveries, and paradigm shifts were taking place in the social/cultural, religious, economic, political, scientific/technological, medical, and areas.
In the social/cultural area, for example, Lowell had a large population and was close to Boston and accessible by railroad. There were numerous churches, lecture halls, and entertainment venues available. Considering the religious and philosophical atmosphere at the time, Lowell had a Swedenborgian Church, a diversity of religious beliefs including Freewill Baptist, Unitarian, Universalist, and Wesleyan Methodist, a rural or garden cemetery, and a community of Transcendentalists just up the Concord River.
Economically, it was the period of, rapid Westward expansion, The Gold Rush, urbanization, mass immigration, industrialization, railroads, and canals. Politically there were abolitionist and anti-slavery activities, Temperance movements, and women’s rights advocacy.
In the scientific and technological areas, there were scientific discoveries, advances, and inventions that did not seem to many people to be that different from Spiritualism, including magnetism, electricity, the telegraph, gravity, astronomy, and anatomy. In medicine, there was movement away from heroic, regular, orthodox medicine and towards irregular, heterodox, benign medical treatments, in addition to the recent discovery of ether. There was also public and professional interest in mesmerism or animal magnetism and phrenology.
Churches and Pastors from the 1849 Lowell City Directory
Spiritualists of this era typically rejected hierarchy, doctrine, dogma, and formal organization. The following groups were mentioned in the newspapers and other primary documents at the time:
Independent Spiritualist Circle
Lee Street Church Spiritualist Society
Lee Street Spiritualist Society
Lee Street Church and Society
First Spiritualist Society
(Church of the) The First Spiritualist Society
Union Association of Spiritualists
First Society of Spiritualists
The following halls, buildings, and churches were mentioned as places where Spiritualist meetings took place in the newspaper articles below (belief, curiosity, skepticism, and entertainment often overlapped).
Appleton Hall
112 Merrimack Street
Lyceum Hall
Music Hall
Reed's Hall
Grand Army Hall
The following clippings were taken from Lowell newspapers of the era. While the emphasis is on events in Lowell, sometimes news from other areas is included.
Key -
LDCN - Lowell Daily Citizen and News
LDJC - Lowell Daily Journal and News
LDC - Lowell Daily Courier
| Lowell Courier 1851-05-05 | New Books |
| Lowell Courier 1852-01-15 | Emigration of the Rappers |
| Lowell Courier 1853-01-04 | Modern Spiritualism |
| Lowell Courier 1853-01-24 | Government "Spiritual Knockings" |
| Lowell Courier 1853-01-26 | "How the Spiritual Rappings are Made" |
| Lowell Courier 1853-01-27 | Spiritual Manifestations |
| Lowell Courier 1853-01-28 | Electro-Reflex Currents of the Brain |
| Lowell Courier 1853-02-19 | The Bank of Chicago conducted by Spirits |
| Lowell Courier 1853-03-07 | Rapped out of Thirteen Thousand Dollars |
| Lowell Courier 1853-03-14 | Spirits in London |
| Lowell Courier 1853-03-24 | The Case of Mr. George Doughty |
| Lowell Courier 1853-04-09 | Spiritual Convention |
| Lowell Courier 1853-04-13 | Rev. John Spear in a Trance |
| Lowell Courier 1853-04-16 | Legislative |
| Lowell Courier 1853-05-03 | Spiritualism vs. Common Sense |
| Lowell Courier 1853-05-04 | Clerical Spiritual Rappings |
| Lowell Courier 1853-05-14 | A Challenge to Rappers |
| Lowell Courier 1853-08-20 | Two new and neat pamphlets |
| Lowell Courier 1853-08-22 | To the Candid and the Curious |
| Lowell Courier 1853-09-01 | Ballston Spa |
| Lowell Courier 1853-09-09 | Exorcism and Superstition |
| Lowell Courier 1853-10-18 | Book - "Page's Psychomancy" |
| Lowell Courier 1853-10-21 | Judge Edmonds of New York |
| Lowell Courier 1853-11-28 | Book - Swedenbourg [sic] |
| Lowell Courier 1853-12-05 | Lawrence Debating Union |
| Lowell Courier 1853-12-21 | Buffalo - first visit of the Foxes |
| Lowell Courier 1854-03-04 | Spiritualism - lecture by Andrew Jackson Davis in Lowell |
| LDCN 1856-05-02 | Spirits Wrong |
| LDCN 1856-07-14 | cured of a six year old cancer |
| LDCN 1856-08-16 | Mrs. Huntley, will speak in Appleton Hall |
| LDCN 1856-11-11 | Spiritualism? |
| LDCN 1856-11-15 | A Fair Test for the "Mediums" |
| LDCN 1856-11-17 | "Spiritual." |
| LDCN 1856-12-13 | Religious Items |
| LDCN 1856-04-28 | Judge Edmonds |
| LDCN 1856-09-09 | Spiritualism lecture at Welles Hall - Dr. John Bouvee Dods |
| LDCN 1856-10-03 | Spirit rapping at Welles Hall - Mrs. [Ada L.] Coan |
| LDCN 1856-12-15 | Suicide by a Spiritualist - "Hattie A. Eager" of Boston |
| LDCN 1857-01-03 | Discharged |
| LDCN 1857-03-04 | Lecture against Spiritualism - Rev. B. F. Clark of North Chelmsford, at Huntington Hall |
| Lowell Courier 1857-04-24 | Harvard expelled divinity student |
| LDCN 1857-05-02 | Editor of N. E. Spiritualist at Prescott st. Church [A. E. Newton of Boston] |
| LDCN 1857-07-02 | The Investigation of Spiritualism [Committee of professors at Harvard] |
| LDCN 1857-10-27 | Mr. Editor - Davenport Boys [Brothers] at 112 Merrimack Street |
| LDCN 1857-11-12 | Davenport boys |
| LDCN 1857-11-12 | "An afternoon with the spirits" |
| LDCN 1857-11-13 | printer's ink |
| LDCN 1857-11-17 | "An evening among the spirits" |
| LDCN 1857-11-20 | The Davenport Boys |
| Lowell Courier 1858-01-28 | Lecture on Spiritualism- Mrs. Henderson, Welles Hall |
| Lowell Courier 1858-02-02 | Mr. J. Garland |
| Lowell Courier 1858-02-17 | Lecture under spirit influence - Anna M. Henderson, Welles Hall, "Clergymen are respectfully invited to attend free" |
| LDCN 1858-03-23 | Nothing like printer's ink |
| Lowell Courier 1858-04-24 | Animal Magnetism and Spiritualism - Dr. G. W. Stone, at Huntington Hall |
| LDCN 1858-05-25 | Deluded |
| LDCN 1858-07-03 | Trance-speaker lecture - Father Pierce, Independent Spiritualist Circle, Mechanics' Building |
| LDCN 1858-07-10 | Mrs. Thompson lecture, Independent Spiritualist Circle, Mechanics' Building |
| LDCN 1858-08-14 | Margaretta Fox |
| LDCN 1858-09-01 | Pic-Nics |
| LDCN 1859-01-27 | M. V. Bly - The "Detective Medium", Huntington Hall |
| LDCN 1859-01-31 | Spiritualism, Dr. Wm. F. Channing, Miss Susan E. Burdick |
| LDCN 1859-02-03 | Instructive Lectures - Dr. J. Turner, at Huntington Hall |
| LDCN 1859-02-05 | Mr. Editor: L. E. Lincoln |
| LDCN 1859-02-10 | Spiritualism lecture at Welles Hall - Miss Emma Hardinge |
| LDCN 1859-03-29 | Spiritualism |
| LDCN 1859-06-29 | The Davenport Boys |
| LDCN 1859-07-25 | Miss Abby A. Goddard - Singular Developments in the History of a Lowell |
| LDCN 1859-07-28 | Spiritualist pic-nic |
| LDCN 1859-07-29 | Spiritualist pic-nic |
| LDCN 1859-09-14 | Spiritualist pic-nic |
| Lowell Courier 1859-09-15 | a political party |
| LDCN 1860-07-21 | A Monster Pic-nic |
| LDC 1860-09-08 | Thoreau lecture, at Welles Hall |
| LDJC 1860-09-08 | Thoreau will speak, at Welles Hall |
| LDCN 1860-12-18 | Spiritualist Funeral, at Welles Hall |
| LDC 1861-04-13 | The Coroner's Inquest - Miss Anna A. Dower |
| LDC 1861-04-15 | The Inquest - Miss Anna A. Dower |
| LDCN 1861-05-16 | Police Court - Miss Anna A. Dower |
| LDCN 1861-05-17 | The court room is filled with ladies, old and young. - Miss Anna A. Dower |
|
mixed up with mesmerism, spiritualism, affinity, &c, &c. - Miss Anna A. Dower |
|
| LDCN 1861-12-03 | Lectures on Prophecy, in Mechanics' Hall |
| LDCN 1861-12-04 | “supreme court of East Cambridge, before the full bench.” - Miss Anna A. Dower |
| LDCN 1863-03-10 | Union Association of Spiritualists, Huntington Hall |
| LDCN 1863-03-14 | Rev. Mr. Gunner - "Sign of the Times", Lee st. Church |
| LDCN 1863-04-29 | Free Lecture -W. K. Ripley, Henry Morgan |
| LDCN 1863-05-26 | H. Melville Fay |
| LDCN 1863-06-18 | S. J. Finney of Ohio, Welles Hall, The Spiritualists will in the future meet in Welles Hall instead of Central Church |
| LDCN 1863-08-19 | Picnic |
| LDCN 1863-08-25 | Pic-nic To-morrow |
| LDCN 1863-08-27 | The Pic-Nic |
| LDCN 1863-08-29 | postponed |
| LDCN 1863-09-30 | holding services in the Lee street church, and will commence their meetings there the first Sunday of the coming month |
| LDCN 1863-11-07 | Miss Susie M.Johnson, Lee-street Church |
| LDCN 1863-12-10 | Mr. W. A. Hume, in the Lee street Church |
| LDCN 1863-12-12 | Miss Martha E. Beckwith, trance speaker, Lee street Church |
| LDCN 1863-12-24 | Exhibition - Christmas Day Evening, LEE-STREET CHURCH |
| LDCN 1864-01-02 | Miss Nellie Temple, Lee-street church |
| LDCN 1864-02-03 | The Lecture |
| LDCN 1864-02-20 | Mrs. C. P. Works, Lee street church |
| LDCN 1864-03-30 | Entertainment - Lee-street Church |
| LDCN 1864-06-04 | Miss Martha L. Beckwith, Lee street church |
| LDCN 1864-10-03 | Funeral, Mrs. Lydia Leonard, Lee Street Church |
| Lowell Courier 1864-10-17 | Farewell Discourse - Rev. Hinckley |
| LDCN 1864-10-17 | Rev. Frederick Hinckley |
| Lowell Courier 1864-12-24 | Sunday Services - Miss Nellie Temple, Lee Street Church |
| Lowell Courier 1864-12-24 | Christmas Gatherings |
| Lowell Courier 1864-12-31 | Charles Hayden, Lee Street Church |
| Lowell Courier 1864-12-31 | Children's Progressive Lyceum, Lee Street Church and Vestry |
| LDCN 1865-01-07 | Clairvoyant Physician - Mrs. A. L. Hobart |
| LDCN 1865-02-11 | Mrs. A. A. Currier, Lee street church |
| LDCN 1865-03-04 | Mrs. Nellie Temple Brigham, Lee street church |
| LDCN 1865-03-11 | Mrs. E. A. Bliss, Lee street church |
| LDCN 1865-04-01 | J. G. Fish, Lee street church |
| Lowell Courier 1865-04-08 | Mrs. Pillsbury, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1865-04-22 | Miss Sarah A. Nuit, Lee street church |
| Lowell Courier 1865-05-13 | Charles Hayden, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1865-07-17 | Robert Heller, Huntington Hall |
| LDCN 1865-12-20 | Exhibition, Lee Street Church Spiritualist Society |
| LDCN 1866-02-16 | A Fair and Festival, Lee Street Church and Society |
| LDCN 1866-03-03 | Mrs. Anna A. Middlebrook, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1866-03-29 | Discussion, Revs. J. G. Fish and Miles Grant, Lee street church |
| LDCN 1866-03-31 | Fred. L. H. Willie [Willis], Lee street church |
| LDCN 1866-04-28 | Funeral, Lee street church |
| LDCN 1866-05-21 | Temperance Lecture, Huntington Hall |
| LDCN 1866-06-08 | Miss Laura V. Ellis - Cabinet Manifestations, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1866-06-08 | Laura V. Ellis - The Child Wonder, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1866-07-21 | Mrs. Waisbrooker, Lee-street church |
| LDCN 1866-09-15 | S. J. Finney, Lee street church |
| LDCN 1866-10-04 | Sale of Pews, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1866-10-16 | Fair and Festival, The Children's Progressive Lyceum, Vestry of the Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1866-12-22 | Mrs. Fannie D. Smith, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1866-12-29 | Mrs. S. A. Byrnes, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1867-01-05 | Mrs. N. J. Willis, Lee Street Church |
| Lowell Courier 1867-02-16 | H. G. Smith, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1867-02-16 | H. G. Smith, Lee Street Church |
| Lowell Courier 1867-02-18 | not the Man |
| Lowell Courier 1867-03-16 | Miss Julia J. Hubbard, Lee Street Church |
| Lowell Courier 1867-03-21 | Festival! - First Spiritualist Society, Huntington Hall |
| Lowell Courier 1867-04-12 | City Library |
| Lowell Courier 1867-04-27 | Wm. A. Hulme, Miss Julia J. Hubbard |
| Lowell Courier 1867-05-06 | to be sold by auction |
| Lowell Courier 1867-05-07 | Trustees' sale of the Lee Street Church |
| Lowell Courier 1867-05-15 | Common Council |
| Lowell Courier 1867-05-23 | Sale of the Lee Street Church |
| Lowell Courier 1867-06-05 | Spiritualism in the United States |
| LDCN 1867-06-06 | Lecture - A. J. Davis, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1867-10-12 | Mrs. Richard C. Pillsbury, Children's Progressive Lyceum, the Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1867-11-16 | Funeral, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1867-11-23 | Rev. J. O. Barrett, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1868-02-08 | Mr. E. S. Wheeler, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1868-02-11 | Funeral, Capt. James Townsend, Lee street church |
| LDCN 1868-03-21 | Miss Eliza H. Feller, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1868-04-03 | The exhibition, Childrens' Progressive Lyceum at Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1868-04-11 | Rev. Moses Hull, Lee Street Church |
| LDCN 1868-04-20 | Horace Greeley |
| LDCN 1868-04-24 | was sold yesterday |
| LDCN 1868-04-30 | the first religious services, French Canadian Society of Catholics |
| LDCN 1868-05-02 | Davenport brothers |
| LDCN 1868-05-06 | first installment of $3,500 |
| LDCN 1868-06-03 | French Canadians |
| LDCN 1868-06-11 | Marriage in Church |
| Lowell Courier 1869-01-30 | "the Eddy Cabinet", Huntington Hall |
| Lowell Courier 1869-02-06 | Spiritualism - Chas. H. Reed / Table Committees |
| Lowell Courier 1869-03-16 | Planchette, the Despair of Science |
| LDCN 1869-03-30 | The twenty first anniversary of modern spiritualism, Lyceum Hall |
| Lowell Courier 1869-04-15 | Huntington Hall Meetings, Elder Grant |
| Lowell Courier 1869-04-16 | Huntington Hall Meetings, Elder Grant |
| Lowell Courier 1869-04-17 | Lowell Church Directory, First Society of Spiritualists. Huntington Hall Meetings |
| Lowell Courier 1869-05-13 | The Davenport Brothers |
| Lowell Courier 1869-06-02 | A Physical Medium in Grief - Mr. Read |
| Lowell Courier 1869-06-03 | "Physical Medium In Grief" letter |
| Lowell Courier 1869-06-09 | The famous Davenport Brothers, Music Hall |
| LDCN 1869-06-10 | Davenport Brothers - Music Hall |
| Lowell Courier 1869-06-14 | Davenport Brothers |
| Lowell Courier 1869-06-15 | Davenport Brothers |
| LDCN 1869-06-15 | The Davenport Brothers |
| Lowell Courier 1869-06-16 | Davenport Brothers - Music Hall |
| LDCN 1869-06-16 | The "Séance" last night |
| Lowell Courier 1869-06-18 | Davenport Brothers and Mr. Fay |
| LDCN 1869-12-20 | Carbonelle vs. Spiritualism, Huntington Hall |
LDCN 1870-03-05 The Davenport Brothers - San Francisco LDCN 1870-06-13 The Children's Progressive Lyceum, First Spiritualist Society, Welles Hall LDCN 1870-07-07 Spiritualism on Trial LDCN 1871-03-09 Fair and Festival, The Children's Progressive Lyceum, First Spiritualist Society, Welles Ha LDCN 1871-07-14 Picnic - The Children's Progressive Lyceum, First Spiritualist Society LDCN 1871-12-26 causes of insanity LDCN 1874-02-21 Albert Colby will lead off in a discussion, Welles Hall LDCN 1874-02-28 At Welles Hall - Albert Colby LDCN 1874-03-07 Albert Colby - prominent Spiritualists will reply LDCN 1874-03-13 reply to Prof. Colby's three lectures, Brother Griffin, Welles Hall LDCN 1874-03-21 Albert Colby will make his closing argument against Spiritualism, Huntington Hall LDCN 1874-03-28 The Discussion on Spiritualism Lowell Courier 1874-11-25 The science of Spiritualism, as it is called LDCN 1876-01-25 First Spiritualist Society LDCN 1876-04-17 First Spiritualist, Reed's Hall LDCN 1876-05-22 First Spiritualist - "Radicalism" LDCN 1876-08-31 Spiritualist Mass Meeting LDCN 1876-09-30 Reed's Hall - Spiritualist Society, Mrs. S. B. Moore, test circle, fire test, Mrs. N. J. Willis LDCN 1876-10-09 First Spiritualist, Mrs. S. B. Mooren Mrs. N. J. Willis LDCN 1876-11-20 Kirk Street Congregational - so-called "Spiritualism" LDCN 1876-12-11 First Spiritualist - Rev. Wm. Brunton LDCN 1876-12-18 First Spiritualist - Messrs. Plimpton, Goward, Mrs. Sarah A. Byrnes LDCN 1877-01-05 Wonderful Entertainment, Music Hall - W. Irving Bishop LDCN 1877-01-15 First Spiritualist - Messers. Plimpton, Albert Colby, Mrs. C. Fannie Allyn LDCN 1877-01-17 First Spiritualist - officers LDCN 1877-01-22 First Spiritualist - Mrs. Allyn LDCN 1877-02-05 First Spiritualist - Mrs. Abbie N. Burnham LDCN 1877-02-12 First Spiritualist - Mrs. Abbie N. Burnham LDCN 1877-02-19 First Spiritualist - Mrs. Burnham LDCN 1877-02-26 First Spiritualist - Mrs. Juliette Yeaw LDCN 1877-04-21 Debate - Reed's Hall LDCN 1877-05-05 Spiritualism at Reed's Hall - Mrs. Cushman, medium LDCN 1877-08-28 The Spiritualist camp-meeting LDCN 1878-06-05 The Spiritualist trance speaker - Mrs. C. Fannie Allyn, Grand Army Hall
