Account of Spiritual Séances by Jacob Huffman Russell, c.1848
Name/Title
Account of Spiritual Séances by Jacob Huffman Russell, c.1848Entry/Object ID
Pam Sh157.4Tags
1840s, 19th CenturyScope and Content
4-page handwritten account of three séances held on April 25, May 4, and May 5 in an unspecified year, estimated to be c.1848 based on reference to Lajos Kossuth and the 1848-1849 Hungarian Revolution. Accounts written by Jacob Huffman Russell mention his daughter Audella and mediums Samantha Eddy, E. J. Clark, and A. Rodgers as well as spirits named Cinthy Giles, Ellsworth Russell (possibly Jacob's brother Ralph Ellsworth Russell), Jane Rodgers, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Ethan Allen. Questions asked of the spirits touch on the afterlife, spiritual spheres, and the Christian God and Bible.Context
Jacob Huffman Russell was the son of Ralph and Laura Russell, founders of the North Union Shaker Village, and grandson of Revolutionary War veteran Jacob Russell, whose burial site is marked with a boulder near South Park Blvd and Lee Rd. Spiritualism first appeared in the 1840s, aligning with the estimated date of the document. Audella Russell, daughter of Jacob Huffman Russell, married Alexander Rogers, possibly the son of the A. Rogers mentioned in the document.Category
Manuscript
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