File:Was Abraham Lincoln a spiritualist? - or, curious revelations from the life of a trance medium (1891) (14581724508).jpg

Identifier: wasabrahamlin2031mayn (find matches)
Title: Was Abraham Lincoln a spiritualist? : or, curious revelations from the life of a trance medium
Year: 1891 (1890s)
Authors: Maynard, Nettie Colburn, 1841-1892
Subjects: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 Spiritualism
Publisher: Philadelphia : Rufus C. Hartranft
Contributing Library: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
Digitizing Sponsor: The Institute of Museum and Library Services through an Indiana State Library LSTA Grant

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ritualism a comforting belief. DURING the early part of the winter of 1863 and1861, a woman by the name of Smith came toWashington to lecture upon the subject of Spiritualism.She obtained a hall which was quickly filled with acrowd of eager listeners, to whom it soon became ap-parent that she was half deranged. Her wild mannerand disjointed sentences so decreased the size of heraudience, that she found remaining none but a hoot-ing mass of boys and a number of empty benches.The proprietor closed the hall ; and she then took tothe streets, speaking from the Capitol grounds to anoisy, disorderly crowd, until finally compelled todesist by the interference of the police. The Spirit-ualists of Washington were greatly mortified at havingtheir religious belief thus caricatured ; and a gentle-man called on Mr. Somes, at whose house I was thenstopping, and making known his errand asked to seeand talk with me. Mr. Somes introduced me, saying,that he represented a number of Spiritualists who had
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Photographed from steel engraving-, loaned by George A. Bacon, Esq. MAKING PROGRESS. 125 been exceedingly mortified at the notoriety given totheir religious belief by this crazy woman, and thatthey desired to get up a public lecture and have mespeak for them. I asked Mr. Somess advice, and hesaid, If you will leave it in my hands, I will havethe affair conducted as it should be, or not at all.I readily consented, and turning to the gentleman, hesaid, You are to get a good hall that shall be warmand well lighted, and get the Rev. John Pierpont topreside. I will then see that Miss Colburn is there intime. The conditions were all complied with. Onthe platform with us was also our able writer andspeaker, A. E. Newton, known far and wide as oneof the ablest of the exponents of Spiritual Philosophy.The interest the subject had awakened in the publicmind was apparent from the crowded audience thathad assembled to meet us. The exercises began witha few well-chosen words from Mr. A. E. Newton,

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