Katherine A. Tingley.[1]
Katherine Augusta Tingley (1847–1929) was born Katherine Westcott to an old Puritan family in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on July 6, 1847. Around 1861, when she was fourteen, Tingley was sent to study at the Convent of Villa Maria in Montreal, Canada.[2] Of this time she said: “I gained only good, and look back upon those days as the happiest of my life. I became a Catholic, and at the age of 16 went into the world with its whirl of social gayety, and was soon married.”[3] Other accounts state that she had been expelled from Villa Maria Convent.[4]
In 1867 she made a surprise visit to in Savannah, Georgia, where her childhood sweetheart, Richard H. Cook, lived. Cook wrote to her father asking if they could marry, to which Tingley’s father replied that he “desired to having nothing more to do with his daughter and that Cook might marry her if he so desired.” They were soon married, but three months later they separated. Cook was compelled to leave her and go to New York, “owing to her misconduct.” Tingley followed him there in 1869, and having reconciled, lived together for some time. It was (presumably) during this period that they had a child, as Tingley had a daughter named Lulu who was born in 1872.[5] After some time the old troubles arose, and they again separated. In 1874 Cook began divorce proceedings. The issue was terminated because Cook heard from his wife’s brother that Tingley was dead. Cook then re-married. Tingley, now back in Newburyport, meanwhile, was involved in some less-than-savory dealings. Evidently Tingley “brought young girls to New York on visits, who, after their return, told of entertainments in the nature of carousals.” It was said that Tingley had also “broken up at least one family.”[6] She had an affair with George W. Parent, a detective in New York who worked for the Elevated Railroad.[7] (A stockholder in that same company, Parent was a man of some wealth.) When Parent’s wife, Ann, learned of the relationship, she filed for divorce in November 1877.[8] Tingley and Parent were subsequently married, but it is unclear if this union was official. (Tingley sent word to Cook at this time notifying him that she had re-married, was “living a blameless life,” and asking him for money.)[9] Tingley and Parent then lived at 152 W. 22 Street, along with Tingley’s brother, Westcott.[10]
In 1879 Tingley adopted a three year old boy from a home for abandoned infants in Harlem. They named him Harry George Parent. Though Tingley claimed to have adopted him, she never showed him any proof, and he was unsure of his parentage. When Harry asked about his family history in later years, he was told that he was the “child of very poor people and that they were dead.” When he asked where they were buried, however, she would not answer. When he asked her what his real name was, she told him that it was Henry Baron, and that his mother was a German, and his father was an Englishman. He always suspected that Tingley and Parent were his true parents, and if he may not have been wrong. It is possible that he was their illegitimate child that was put into a home, later to be retrieved once the couple were properly married.[11]
By the summer of 1881 Tingley was working as a Medium in New York City at 119 W. 56th Steer.[12] Within two years she had thrown her lot in with a group of Spiritualists who met at Frobisher Hall (23 E. 14th Street,) who would later be known as the People’s Spiritual Meeting.[13] Among the members of this group was the Reverend Charles Paul McCarthy, a Spiritualist who operated a school of hypnotism in Harlem.[14] Both Tingley and McCarthy would also be involved with the Parker Spiritual Society.[15] Tingley “developed her clairvoyance and hypnotic powers” under McCarthy, but he would later denounce her as “the greatest black magician on the American Continent.”[16] Tingley, however, claimed to have never practiced hypnotism, though admitting that if properly used, hypnotism would be of “great benefit to humanity.”[17] By 1885, Tingley was living at 788 Sixth Avenue, and was the Vice President of the Spiritualists’ Progressive Union, a group “composed not only of pronounced Spiritualists, but also of Liberals and investigators of both sexes.” The Treasurer of the group, Henry J. Newton, was one of the founding members of the Theosophical Society (and its first Treasurer,) and Tingley may have learned more about the Theosophical Society and Blavatsky through him.[18] Throughout the 1880s, Tingley would expand upon her repertoire of mediumistic displays with feats of psychometry.[19] (In later years, Tingley would downplay her involvement with the Spiritualist community, but it is evident that she was an active member.[20] She would later claim that she “had an aged East Indian ghost for a ‘guide,’” but this latter reference is likely a bit of autohagiography after assuming power in the Theosophical Society.)[21]
In November 1887, Parent and Tingley reached an agreement on “an amicable arrangement of separation.” Parent, it was said, had deserted Tingley for another woman, and was living at 1001 Sixth Avenue. He agreed to transfer the major portion of his estate to Tingley.[22] The reasons are unclear, but in 1888 Tingley was living at 152 W. 22 Street with her three children whom she claimed were adopted.[23] Curiously, the two youngest, the infant Flossie Cook, and toddler, Dick Cook, had the surname of her first husband.[24] In February 23, 1888, George W. Parent died at 1001 Sixth Avenue.[25] Tingley’s son Harry would late state that after Parent’s death, Tingley’s father came from Newburyport to New York, and together they went to the house at 1001 Sixth Avenue to take a last look at Parent, “but neither of them went to the funeral.”[26] Though neither are explicitly named, an account of the funeral from a contemporary source, is more or less consistent with that narrative.
An article in The Hutchinson News (Hutchinson, Kansas) states that shortly after Parent’s death, Colonel Hain of the elevated railroad sent two men to the flat to take charge of his personal estate, and attend to the funeral arrangements. (There had been some intimation that dispute might arise over the possession of the dead man’s effects.) Just before the funeral, a man (probably Tingley’s brother) entered the parlor where the coffin rested. He stated that he was Parent’s son, and that he had come there to secure his property. He then sat down in a corner near the window, and declared that he would not leave until the property was turned over to him. Notwithstanding this awkward incident, the funeral arrangements continued, and the mourners left with the remains and interred in Cypress Hill Cemetery, Brooklyn. The guards from the elevated railroad remained and remonstrated with the man, telling him that he had to leave, and that he would not be allowed to touch any of Parent’s effects. Two young women then arrived, who alleged to be the other occupants of the apartment, and made frequent threats to eject the man. The man, however, remained until the others sent for an officer. He then went to the station house and asked the police to interfere on his behalf. He said he lived with his mother on Twenty-second Street, and that Parent was his father. He also said that Parent possessed much valuable property at the time of his death, including a six-hundred-dollar diamond ring, a heavy fold watch and chain, and nearly $1,000 in cash. He feared this property would be taken possession of by the women who lived in the house.[27] He was told that he must have recourse to legal measures, and left without furnishing any other particulars concerning himself. The article also stated:
[A Detective] had meanwhile called at No. 1091 Sixth Avenue and seen the young woman in charge of Mr. Parent’s apartments. She refused to give her name, but said that he had lived there as her lodger for some time and that she had nursed him in his recent sickness, in return for which he had given her some jewelry. She also said that she had never heard Mr. Parent speak of having either a wife or son alive, and that she did not believe the young man’s statement.[28]
It was said that when Parent died, “he left Harry George Parent $1,500 and a gold watch worth $1,000.” Years later when Harry asked Tingley what had become of this money, she said “that woman got it all,” evidently meaning the woman for whom he had deserted her.[29] Six months after Parent’s death, Tingley married Philo B. Tingley, an office manager for the Red Star and American Line.[30] They lived in West Bergen, New Jersey, and later took a flat at The Graylock (2048 Seventh Avenue.) By the end of 1888, Tingley was associated with The First Society Of Spiritualists, and by the close of the decade ventured into philanthropic work as President of the Ladies’ Society of Mercy (a Spiritualist project.)[31]
In 1890, when Harry turned 14, Tingley shipped him off in the navy. (They would not see each other again for another seven years.)[32] By 1892, the Tingleys were living at 68th & Columbus. Her general reputation in the neighborhood where she lived was a bad one “on account of contracting debts and not paying her bills.” Lena Morris, the janitor of the house at 107 West Sixty-Eight Street (where the Tingley’s lived) Morris stated that Tingley was “dispossessed for non-payment of rent, and the tradesmen came around after she was gone with bills she had left unpaid.” She added that she had often seen Tingley intoxicated, and her apartment in shambles. Tingley then engaged in a “faith-cure business with clairvoyancy,” even claiming to have successfully cured her brother with mesmeric healing. (If she did, the cures wore off rather quickly, as George Westcott died soon after, in May 1893.)[33] We have another account of Tingley’s clairvoyant practice given to us from her neighbor, Dr. Henry Hugo Reuthin, who states:
Mrs. Tingley invited me to her house on the pretext of meeting her husband. She told me she could cure ills by passing her hands over persons and by massage. Her patients were mostly men. She locked herself in the room with them. She practiced hypnotism. She tried to hypnotize me. Her methods were indecent. I was very indignant […] I first met her in the Fall of 1893. She sent me an invitation to come, to call in her apartment and get acquainted with her husband. Her apartment was at 107 West 68th Street. I lived at 105. I called. Thereafter I saw Mrs. Tingley three or four times a week. I would see her on the street, also occasionally in her apartment […] I know what Mrs. Tingley did, what her business was. She was a magnetic healer and Medium […] I found the rest of the family absent and she seated herself very close by me and commenced to speak to me very rapidly, staring at me intently and making suggestions which I considered improper […]I saw very plain that the woman had impure intentions […] her suggestions were of a sexual nature, that is what I mean to say—Nothing else could be understood but what the woman wished […] No woman would directly ask a man to do a certain thing […] I understood it very plainly to be a desire for sexual intercourse […] It happened in 1894, or 1893 I think […][34]
It may have been in this capacity that Judge first met Tingley. In letter to Ernest Hargrove from December 1893, he writes: “Clairvoyant doctor says my liver is swelled inside. If it bursts good bye.”[35] (It may also explain why Judge had an aversion to being left alone with nurses.)[36] By Tingley’s own account, she states that she met Judge outside of her “Do-Good Mission” (607 East 14th Street) which operated between the winter of 1893/1894.[37] (As Tingley mentions a coatmaker’s strike and a blizzard, she likely met Judge sometime between the blizzard of 1893 and the summer of 1893.)[38] (This was also around the time that she became involved with the Woman’s Emergency Relief Association.)[39] It seems likely that Clem Griscom was involved in the introduction of Tingley to Judge, at least in some capacity. Philo Tingley was employed in the Red Star Line office in Bowling Green, the office which Griscom managed.[40] Tingley at this time had some financial issues stemming from a patent she owned.[41] This may be what Neresheimer refers to when he writes:
Shortly after [Judge’s] return to New York City from the “Parliament of Religions” at the Chicago World’s Fair, in the Fall of 1893, Mr. Judge mentioned casually an invention made by an acquaintance of his, Mr. Philo B. Tingley. He said he would like me to look at it and, if agreeable, he would introduce me to Mr. Tingley. Accordingly, we called at Mr. Tingley’s home in 95th Street where I was introduced to both Mr. and Mrs. Tingley. I decided not to engage in Mr. Tingley’s proposed enterprise, wrote him to that effect and dismissed that matter from my mind.[42]
Tingley officially joined the Theosophical Society on October 13, 1894.[43] It would seem that Flossie Tingley was member of the Lotus Circle, as an 1893 photograph was taken of her for the Theosophists of New York. Somehow the photograph found its way to The Saturday Blade (Chicago, Illinois) where it gained popularity.
Flossie Tingley c. 1893.[44]
The picture then had a wide circulation all over the world, and under the title of “Easter Lilies” (although the editors of The Saturday Blade, called their cut “A Lily Offering.”[45] Nerehesheimer’s account continues:
My meetings with Mrs. Tingley soon settled down to almost daily regularity and continued thus until the fall of 1894, with but few breaks, as when Mr. Judge went to London for the “Judicial Proceedings” inaugurated by Col. Olcott to “try” Mr. Judge on the charges against him by Mrs. Besant as sponsor. During part of this period also, Mrs. Tingley was away from New York City, at Newburyport, Mass. After the first few visits, Mrs. Tingley told me that it would be necessary to adopt a more ceremonial procedure in order to maintain the sacred character of our work together. She therefore conducted me into a small private room, with a bare floor and devoid of furniture, except a small table, two chairs and an easel, on which was a symbolical portrait known as the “Rajah,” a copy of a water color sketch made by Mr. Judge himself. She seated me before the painting of the “Rajah,” blindfolded me, seated herself in the other chair to my right, and we both maintained absolute silence for some fifteen minutes of meditation. This, she had said, was for the purpose of preparing the requisite Occult atmosphere, and so making it possible for us, the more effectively, to consecrate our efforts. The routine of our subsequent meetings followed practically the same course.
[…] Mrs. Tingley kept silence on the subject of Mr. Judge’s cognizance of her connection with me, and I also maintained the same silence toward Mr. Judge as to what was going on in my interviews with Katherine Tingley. He, on the part, never discussed this relationship with me; I felt absolutely sure that he had a full knowledge of all that went on, as was evidenced by numerous inferential remarks he made from time to time bearing on these various matters […] Towards the summer of 1894, shortly before Judge left for Europe, a suspension of our meetings was agreed upon by Mrs. Tingley and myself and, as a matter of fact, they were never again resumed. Mr. Judge came home from the London “trial” in August, 1894. The agitation quickly began again so that it became clear that nothing short of the utter destruction of Mr. Judge’s influence would ever satisfy the conspirators against his Theosophical reputation. Mr. Judge’s health, by this time, was greatly broken down. Something had to be done to secure rest and relaxation from the terrific strain of the continual pressure of events besides the heavy burden of his daily work. Mrs. Tingley proposed to me that Mr. Judge be induced to go to Mineral Wells, near San Antonio, Texas, where she offered to go, and, if possible, nurse him back to health. This was early in 1895 when it was becoming every day more apparent that some decisive action would be necessary at the forthcoming Convention of the American Section, to be held the last Sunday in April at Boston. Arrangements were made accordingly, Mr. Judge going by way of Cincinnati for a short visit to Mr. Buck, one of his staunchest supporters, who was to receive and forward all mail to Mr. Judge, whose real destination was kept secret in order to secure the needed privacy. Mrs. Tingley went direct to Mineral Wells in order to make the necessary arrangements before Mr. Judge arrived. She rented a small, poorly-furnished house from a German woman. Mrs. Tingley rendered invaluable service, both by her devoted care of Mr. Judge and by acting as his amanuensis when he was too ill to write himself. Occasional long typewritten letters were sent by Mr. Judge himself to me, containing instructions and suggestions in elucidation of the various matters alluded to in Mrs. Tingley’s letters, which were in her own handwriting.[46]
Knowing what we know of Dr. Reuthin’s account, one is left wondering if Neresheimer witnessed a similar treatment. If so, did he engage in a sexual relationship with Tingley? Could that have been used as leverage? If Judge and Tingley did, in fact, ever go to the Mineral Wells in Texas, we have only Tingley and Neresheimer’s word to go on—and the evidence does not support this version of the Judge story. We have eyewitness accounts and letters which place Judge in New York from November 1894 to the first week on January 1895, Chicago the second week of January 1895, Indiana the third week of January 1895, and back in New York at the end of January 1895. If Judge did go to Texas, it almost certainly wasn’t for two months. He would have had to have left New York in early February, and if he did travel by rail within that month, it would have taken at least two weeks (roundtrip) by rail—hardly the restful excursion. With only type-written letters of from his alleged amanuensis, Tingley, to support her claim, the evidence is not very convincing.[47] It was also at this time that some American Theosophists were receiving “Bogus Mahatma Letters” in “yellowish linen paper, looking quite eastern,” with a new “pledge,” enclosed within.[48] Neresheimer’s account continues:
Preparations for the coming American Convention were hampered by the absence of Mr. Judge from New York City, so that a committee, consisting of C.A. Griscom, Jr., A.E. Spencer and myself met daily to deal with such matters as Mr. Judge entrusted to us. Mr. Judge was confined to his bed most of the time, and towards the end of his absence, the committee was enlarged by adding other well-known Theosophists from New York, Brooklyn, Boston, Buffalo and Chicago, whom Mr. Judge named in his letters to us.
He was away, in all, about two and a half months, and when he returned to New York City in March, 1895, he was still very weak but sufficiently improved in health to be able to direct with comparative vigor the strenuous work requiring his immediate attention. As far as I am aware, none by [but] Mr. Buck and myself knew of Mr. Judge’s whereabouts during his absence from New York City, though notice that he was away was published in his magazine The Path.
After [Judge’s] return, a throat-affection which has troubled him before, recurred, so that he could speak only in a hoarse whisper. He discussed his plans for the Boston Convention, that was to take place at the end of April, 1895, with the Committee, which resulted in an entire separation from the Adyar Section of the original Theosophical Society—the adoption of the name “The Theosophical Society In America,” and the almost unanimous election of Mr. Judge as President for life of the new Society.[49]
Eyewitnesses place Tingley at the Convention, but she does seem to hold any exalted status. Ernest Hargrove writes:
For the benefit of those who think they know all about Mrs. Tingley, even at that time—and they are many, some of them denouncing her as already a “little dugpa,” and Judge as being “under her thumb”; some of them exalting her to the rank of H.P.B. or higher—it is worth noting that she attended the Boston Convention; made a short speech; that Judge glared at her with deep displeasure while she spoke and after she resumed her seat; and that at the end of the session he called her to him and rebuked her so severely that she wept.[50]
In late June 1895, we find Tingley in Galveston, Texas with Flossie.“[Tingley] had Intended to induct the little girl to the mysteries of Theosophy,” it was said, “but Flossie did not learn readily, and the child was given for adoption.” [51] A month later she begins her connection with the Countess Di Brazza (Cora Slocomb,) an American woman who married into Italian nobility.[52] During this time Di Brazza was the chairman of the committee to secure the pardon of the Italian immigrant, Maria Barber, who was jailed for murdering her abuser.[53] Tingley and Di Brazza became good friends. The Tingleys soon found themselves living as tenants of one of Di Brazza’s properties, a handsome Manhattan home at 373 West End Avenue (at the intersection of Eighty-third Street.)[54] The street, regarded as a miniature Fifth Avenue on the Upper West Side, was lined with chateauesque homes the characteristics of which included brick and stone in rusty autumnal shades, tiled bell-roofs, copper-framed dormers, and intricate terra-cotta crests.[55]
We are now at the period which marks the the first year of the Theosophical Society of America, and the last year of William Q. Judge’s life. The year began with an incident that has been largely overlooked during that eventful period, yet may provide some clues to the events leading to Tingley’s rise to power. In January 1896 Claude Falls Wright was working in the correspondence office at Aryan Hall. It was a busy time, as members of the Theosophical Society throughout the country were renewing their subscriptions to the society’s publications, and sending in their dues for the coming year. Many of the letters contained money orders and enclosed bills. One day Claude discovered that the mail arriving at Aryan Hall showed signs as having been tampered with. Claude was hyper-aware of this fact, as he had been victim of mail-fraud that autumn. Letters he had written showed signs that there were also “written some words in another handwriting from [his] own.”[56] (Judge appears to have been aware of this, and suspected fraud.)[57] Several letters that arrived at Aryan Hall were smudged with fingerprints. These letters had been “clumsily opened, apparently with steam, and then stuck together,” and it was clear whoever had opened them “cared so little about concealing his work that slight effort had been made to hide the traces of it.” The appearance of these letters led Claude to examine others that came in the mail, and soon realized that many other letters had been opened, and in a few instances the work “had been very skillfully done.” For more than a week the mail arrived several times a day with the majority of the letters showing evidence of having been tampered with. “All had been opened without prejudice.” Curiously, “few of the New York letters bore any signs of having been opened. The mystery was greater still as none of the money or money orders were taken from the opened letters. Claude assumed that “somebody inimical to the society” made a complaint to the postal authorities that illegal material was sent to the society. Claude stated:
There seems to be no other explanation. No money has been taken. But for more than a week the great majority of the letters that came to us were opened by someone long before they reached our hands. Out of fifty that came in a day there would not be more than two or three which did not plainly show that they had been opened and resealed.
The matter was brought to the postmaster of New York, who told the Theosophists that the post office did not open their mail, nor could they according to law. He did, however, acknowledge that someone had tampered with the letters, as it appeared as though the mail in question had been “opened by steaming,” and the ink from the letter had blotted the envelope. On January 14, 1896, Dayton went a step further and sent a detective to watch the mail that went to 144 Madison Avenue. Within two days the letters began to arrive with no marks of having been opened. The New York Sun asked: “Who has been opening the letters sent to the society’s headquarters at 144 Madison Avenue?”[58] One might also ask, why was opening the letters sent to the society’s headquarters? We may have an answer when reading the conclusion of Neresheimer’s account:
During this closing period of Mr. Judge’s life, I saw him frequently, the last time being only a few days before he passed away. Of Katherine Tingley, he saw but little; indeed I frequently wondered at her apparent indifference to his condition. Nevertheless, it was she who advised me of his death, by telegram, to my residence at Bayside, Long Island. The telegram did not reach me until Sunday morning, March 22nd, and, as requested in her message, I forthwith hurried to her home.
She received me in her room, where she was lying in her bed in a state of apparent exhaustion and in a somewhat confused state of mind, due, she said, to a sleepless night. She began excitedly to tell me of a “vision” she had had of Mr. Judge, who, according to her statement, had appeared to her twice during the night, both times in great apparent distress because he could not express his wishes and intentions upon his former closest associates. After a time she outlined, with much animation, plans and suggestions for elaborate funeral services. No allusion was made by her at that visit to the question of her “Successorship” to Mr. Judge.[59]
During a March 26, 1896 meeting, in which Clem Griscom, Ernest Hargrove, and John Pryse were notified of Tingley’s status, Neresheimer states:
Katherine Tingley disclosed considerable personal knowledge of possible candidates, both in New York and elsewhere. Though she had never been at the London Headquarters, and only just a few times at 144 Madison Avenue, New York, she described various centres, the actions of the members, their work and environment, even to the pictures on the walls of the Lodge rooms. Some of these descriptions, Mr. Hargrove and Mr. James Pryse were able to verify of their own knowledge.[60]
So we return to the tampered letters at Aryan Hall. These correspondences with contained details about Branches throughout the country, of which “few of the New York letters bore any signs of having been opened.” If money was not the objective, then who might benefit from such letters? The culprit was likely someone who knew enough about the details of Aryan Hall that they did not need to bother reading the local letters. This person was one who could benefit from gaining “considerable personal knowledge of possible candidates, both in New York and elsewhere.” Someone who, though never having been to the “London Headquarters, and only just a few times at 144 Madison Avenue, New York,” could nevertheless describe “various centres, the actions of the members, their work and environment, even to the pictures on the walls of the Lodge rooms.” Someone a lot like Tingley.
HARGROVE
I. “Refined English Atmosphere.”
II. “The Purple Mother.”
III. “Kitty Tingley, Despot.”
IV. “Villa Maria.”
V. “Dr. Leyds And The Occultation Of World Politics.”
VI. “The South African Situation.”
VII. “The Conciliator Of South Africa.”
VIII. “Transvaal Vs. Churchill.”
IX. “The Séances Of Thomas Welton Stanford.”
X. “The White Stag.”
XI. “The Hair Line Of Duty.”
SOURCES:
[1] “Faces Of Friends: Katherine A. Tingley.” Theosophy. Vol. XII, No. 2 (May 1897): 46-47.
[2] “[Tingley] continued to be taken to church until one Sunday, when, going to church with her aunt, they passed the house of a Swedenborgian lady, who rushed out into the street and aunt for interfering with the child’s future by taking her to church. Her aunt was deeply affected by this, as, although not naturally psychic, she saw behind the Swedenborgian lady’s face, the face of a man, a perfect stranger to her. Many years afterwards, in 1895, this aunt met Mr. Judge, and at once recognized the man she had seen protruding, as it were, from the Swedenborgian face. The child would see strange things; the rocks and the trees would have voices which she alone could hear, and a ‘big man’ would often appear to her, telling her to remember him in the future. The parents were naturally alarmed by even the little their daughter would tell them about these ‘voices’ and the ‘strange spirit’ and when she was 12 years of age sent her to a Roman Catholic convent, greatly to the annoyance of her grandfather. with a view to curing her of her ‘delusions,’ and putting as great a restraint upon her as possible. But the same strange life followed her there. She would be unable to study, and yet when class time arrived she would know her lessons perfectly. Attracted by the rules for meditation enforced by the sisters, she naturally became a devout Roman Catholic, and remained one for nearly two years. She married a gentleman of means, living with her husband for three weeks and leaving him for reasons similar to those which prompted H.P.B. to leave Gen. Blavatsky.” [“Occult Boom.” The Boston Globe. (Boston, Massachusetts) June 1, 1896.]
[3] Sheldon, Grace Carew. “Theosophy: A Talk With The Leader, Katherine A. Tingley.” The Buffalo Courier. (Buffalo, New York) July 5, 1896.
[4] “Mysteries Of Tingleyism.” The Sun. (New York, New York) November 8, 1902.
[5] [Kate A. Parent] “United States Census, 1880,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZ6Y-JF6 : Sun Mar 10 10:54:17 UTC 2024), Entry for George Parent and Kate A. Parent, 1880.
[6] “Mysteries Of Tingleyism.” The Sun. (New York, New York) November 8, 1902.
[7] “Ever since the organization of the present elevated railroad system a “secret service bureau” or detective service has been maintained for “spotting” crooked ticket sellers and investigating witnesses of accidents, etc. The force included many gatemen, ticket sellers and porters, besides a contingent of young women whose duty it was to watch operations on the platforms.” [“Wrangling Over The Corpse.” The Hutchinson News. (Hutchinson, Kansas) March 2, 1888.]
[8] “The Courts.” The New York Herald. (New York, New York) November 2, 1877.
[9] “Sun Worshippers of Point Loma.” The Detroit Free Press. (Detroit, Michigan) November 16, 1902.
[10] [Kate A. Parent] “United States Census, 1880,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZ6Y-JF6 : Sun Mar 10 10:54:17 UTC 2024), Entry for George Parent and Kate A. Parent, 1880.
[11] “Discovery Of Henry Baron.” The Los Angeles Times. (Los Angeles, California) November 18, 1902.
[12] “New York Advertisements.” The Banner Of Light. Vol. XLIX, No. 17 (July 16, 1884): 7.
[13] “Spiritualist Meeting In New York.” The Banner Of Light. Vol. LIII, No. 20 (August 4, 1883): 8; “Frobisher Hall Meetings.” The Banner Of Light. Vol. LIV, No. 10 (November 44, 1883): 8.
[14] Jones, F.W. “People’s Spiritual Meeting.” The Banner Of Light. Vol. LVL, No. 4 (October 11, 1884): 8.
[15] In the spring of 1885, Tingley and McCarthy were among the “band of earnest, educated and highly cultured Spiritualists,” who formed The Parker Spiritual Society, which sought “to make Spiritualism the basis of a more exalted religious faith and life by teaching ‘a greater reverence for the Great Spirit God,’ by establishing a more profound and reasonable respect for the bible and other sacred books,’ and by avoiding ‘the infidelity resulting from the plenary inspirational hypothesis of all religionists.’” [“A New Departure.” The Banner Of Light. Vol. LVII, No. 8 (May 9, 1885): 4.]
[16] The Supreme Court Of The State Of California. Katherine Tingley, Plaintiff, Vs. Times Mirror Company, Defendant. San Francisco, California. (1904): 365.
[17] Sheldon, Grace Carew. “Theosophy: A Talk With The Leader, Katherine A. Tingley.” The Buffalo Courier. (Buffalo, New York) July 5, 1896.
[18] [Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at http://tsmembers.org/. See book 1, entry 6. (website file: 1A: 1875-1885) Henry J. Newton. (Joined 11/17/1875); “Ashes to Ashes.” The New York Daily Herald. (New York, New York) December 7, 1876.] Newton, the former President of the First Society of Spiritualists, was also “an amateur photographer of considerable repute.” At the time when he first met Blavatsky, he was conducting an experiment involving spirit-photography in the home of the medium, Dr. Ruggles (492 State Street, Brooklyn.) [Quaestor Vitae “The Real Origins Of The Theosophical Society: Pt. I.” Light. Vol. XV, No. 776 (November 23, 1895): 569-570; Quaestor Vitae “The Real Origins Of The Theosophical Society: Pt. II.” Light. Vol. XV, No. 777 (November 30, 1895): 577.] Ruggles was, incidentally, Blavatsky’s former landlord; his wife, Emily Ruggles claimed to be the first to bestow the title of “Madame” upon Blavatsky. [“Their Sheltering Arms” The World (New York , New York) April 2, 1893.]
[19] “Banner Correspondence.” The Banner Of Light. Vol. LIX, No. 20 (July 31, 1886): 3.
“Meetings In New York.” The Banner Of Light. Vol. LXIII, No. 20 (May 10, 1890): 8.
[20] Tingley states: “I was once interested in spiritualism, as for years I have searched for truth no matter where it might be found. In that search I waded through much that was objectionable and certainly false, but found in spiritualism many truths, and number among the spiritualists some very dear friends. I certainly was not a medium in the ordinary sense of the word, as I soon realized. At no time was I looked upon as a real spiritualist, and, indeed at times was treated by many of the spiritualists some very dear friends. I came out of spiritualism on account of a consciousness that there was more beyond, and a realization that the better part of spiritualism was but a stepping stone to a broader and higher philosophy. Many of the leaders of spiritualism did not pay any attention to what should be the real object of all researches–and understanding of the human soul.” [“Occult Boom.” The Boston Globe. (Boston, Massachusetts) June 1, 1896.]
[21] “Mahatma’s Name Is Kitty.” The Sun. (New York, New York) May 18, 1896.
[22] “Woman Against Woman.” The New York Times. (New York, New York) February 28, 1888.
[23] “Discovery Of Henry Baron.” The Los Angeles Times. (Los Angeles, California) November 18, 1902.
[24] A newspaper in 1897 states: “Flossie was a beautiful child. She is now 10 years old The picture represents her at the age six years.” Meaning Flossie was born sometime around 1887. The picture referenced, “An Easter Offering,” was therefore taken some time around 1893. [“The Story Of ‘Easter Lilies.’” The Berkshire County Eagle. (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) April 21, 1897.]
[25] “Woman Against Woman.” The New York Times. (New York, New York) February 28, 1888.
[26] “Discovery Of Henry Baron.” The Los Angeles Times. (Los Angeles, California) November 18, 1902.
[27] “Mrs. Kate A. Parent yesterday instituted replevin proceedings against Mrs. Leech to recover possession of some furniture. Mrs. Leech is land-lady of the furnished rooms at 1001 Sixth Avenue, in one of which George W. Parent, husband of the plaintiff, died last Thursday [February 23, 1888.] A young woman with whom he lived claimed the furniture in question, but the Marshal removed the property to a storehouse, there to abide the trial of ownership.” [“Woman Against Woman.” The New York Times. (New York, New York) February 28, 1888.]
[28] “Wrangling Over The Corpse.” The Hutchinson News. (Hutchinson, Kansas) March 2, 1888.]
[29] “Discovery Of Henry Baron.” The Los Angeles Times. (Los Angeles, California) November 18, 1902.
[30] “Their Crusade Begins Today.” New York Tribune (New York, New York) June 13, 1896.
“Ocean Steamships.” The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.) May 30, 1896.
[31] Patterson. “The First Society Of Spiritualists Of New York.” The Better Way. Vol. III, No. 76 (December 15, 1888): 5; “Meetings In New York.” The Banner Of Light. Vol. LXIII, No. 20 (May 10, 1890): 8.
[32] [Harry G. Parent joined the navy in 1890 at 14] “United States Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XG79-253 : Fri Mar 08 20:17:54 UTC 2024), Entry for Harry G Parent, Oct 1890.
[33] “Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NWQ7-BPP : 14 December 2022), George W. Westcott, 1893.
[34] The Supreme Court Of The State Of California. Katherine Tingley, Plaintiff, Vs. Times Mirror Company, Defendant. San Francisco, California. (1904): 337-340.
[35] Hargrove, Ernest Temple. “Letters From W.Q. Judge Pt. I.” The Theosophical Quarterly. Vol. XXVIII, No. 4. (April 1931): 314-326.
[36] Hargrove writes: “On Friday, the 20th, Mrs. Judge and his sister, Miss Emily Judge, persuaded him to have a professional night nurse. She came, but he would not have her in his room!” [Hargrove, Ernest Temple. “Letters From W.Q. Judge Pt. IX.” The Theosophical Quarterly. Vol. XXXII, No. 3. (January 1935): 198-205.]
[37] The Do-Good Mission which operated a “class for instruction of the poor” was located at 607 East 14th Street in the winter of 1893/1894. [“The English Pulse.” The Theosophical News. Vol. I, No. 5 (July 20, 1896): 2; “Mirror Of The Movement.” Theosophy Vol. XI, No. 7 (October 1896): 219-224; “Theosophical Societies.” New Century. Vol. I., No. 3. (October 14, 1897): 8.] Tingley writes: “One bitter winter when the East Side was seriously affected by a strike of the cloakmakers. Day after day these people were holding out for what they considered their rights, and the destitution had become terrible. They had no resources left, and their children were on the point of starvation. One morning a baby died in its mother’s arms at the door of the Do-Good Mission, an emergency relief society I had established, with its headquarters in an old tenement house in the region of greatest privation—crowds used to come there daily for soup and bread and what else I could provide to help them. I remember that day well. Snow was falling when I started out in the morning to go down to the Mission to meet those discouraged persons in their poverty, an ordinary snowstorm that gave little warning of the tremendous blizzard that was to rage later in the day, the fury of which was beginning to be apparent when I arrived. In that fierce storm, now increasing momently, over six hundred women and children were waiting in the street for relief. They were but half-dressed—they had pawned most of their clothes—they were perishing with the cold; they were wailing out loud, many of them, and clamoring for help […] I could not send them away hungry, and it would be some little time yet before the food that was being prepared would be ready. There was nothing for it but for me to go out and talk to them, to keep them as well as I could in humor and patience while waiting […] All the while the crowd and the storm kept increasing, and with them my own distress, till I felt my heart almost at breaking-point to see so much keen misery and to know that all I could do was so wretchedly little, so ineffectual: to lift them out of their present trouble and keep them secure against as bad or worse tomorrow or the next day. [Tingley, Katherine A. The Gods Await. Woman’s International Theosophical League. Point Loma, California. (1926): 76-79.]
[38] “Storm Compared With The Great Blizzard OF Five Years Ago.” The New York Times. (New York, New York) February 23, 1893; “From The World Of Labor.” The World. (New York, New York); “The Strike Of The Garment Workers In New York City.” The Outlook. Vol. 50, No. 11 (September 15, 1894): 414-415.
[39] The Banner Of Light states in February 1894: “[Tingley] had found increasing interest in new [Spiritualist] circles formed throughout the city, many of the members of which were connected with churches, showing that sermons no longer feed those who hunger for spiritual food. She was particularly interested in the Woman’s Emergency Relief Association, which is doing its work on the east side of town, and feeding seventeen hundred hungry people every week. The destitution was appalling; families are put on the streets, some owing not over one dollar and seventy five cents, but unable to pay: men without shoes or clothing—all pawned for food. That day she had attended to two cases, a child and its mother dying of starvation. Appeals are often made to ‘sectarian’ organizations, but so much red tape intervenes that before relief comes the victims faint. As a psychic, she felt like predicting that before the coming spring, unless something be done by the Government or the cities, irrepressible riots would follow.” [“Spiritualist Meetings.” The Banner Of Light. Vol. LXXIV, No. 24 (February 17, 1894): 3.]
[40] “International Navigation Company.” Railway World. Vol. XVIII, No. 2 (January 9, 1892) 30-31; “International Navigation Co.” The Northwestern Miller. Vol. XLIII, No. 15 (April 9, 1897) 535.
[41] In 1896, Tingley stated: “Some years ago I had a lawsuit […] with regard to a patent I owned. One of the stockholders got the company entangled, and although I had paid him $1,000, $734 as treasurer, he said I still owed $130 for office rent, and sued me.” [Sheldon, Grace Carew. “Theosophy: A Talk With The Leader, Katherine A. Tingley.” The Buffalo Courier. (Buffalo, New York) July 5, 1896.]
[42] Neresheimer, Emil August. “Some Reminiscences Of William Q. Judge.” February 24, 1932.
[43] Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at http://tsmembers.org/. See book 1, entry 11803. (website file: 1D:1890-1894) Katherine A. Tingley. [164 W. 95th Street. (10/13/94.)]
[44] A facsimile of this photograph with details can be found in: “No Trace Of Lost Girl.” The New York Journal. (New York, New York) November 3, 1896.
[45] [“The Story Of ‘Easter Lilies.’” The Berkshire County Eagle. (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) April 21, 1897.] Fussell States: “Flossie [was] an adopted child who was for many years under Mrs. Tingley’s care—adopted when she was very little…” Tingley claimed that she sent Flossie back to a relative at the advice of friends. [“A Yogi Vexes Theosophs.” The Sun. (New York, New York,) November 2, 1896.] Lena Morris states that Flossie was present with Tingley at least up until 1892/1893. [The Supreme Court Of The State Of California. Katherine Tingley, Plaintiff, Vs. Times Mirror Company, Defendant. San Francisco, California. (1904): 357.] According to Henry Parent, Flossie was then put in an insane asylum for some time. [“Discovery Of Henry Baron.” The Los Angeles Times. (Los Angeles, California) November 18, 1902.] Tingley states: “I adopted a girl some years ago, but by the advice of my physician when her family became able to take care of her again, I gave her back to them, and the report about her being committed to an asylum was untruthful.” [Sheldon, Grace Carew. “Theosophy: A Talk With The Leader, Katherine A. Tingley.” The Buffalo Courier. (Buffalo, New York) July 5, 1896.]
[46] Neresheimer, Emil August. “Some Reminiscences Of William Q. Judge.” February 24, 1932.
[47] Judge, William Q. “Judge And The Masters.” The Sun. (New York, New York) December 3, 1894; “A Noted Theosophist.” Fort Wayne Weekly Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) January 03, 1895; “Entertainments Which Have Occurred.” The New York Times. (New York, New York) January 27, 1895; “Mirror Of The Movement.” The Path. Vol. IX, No. 12 (March 1895): 441; Hargrove, Ernest Temple. “Letters From W.Q. Judge IV.” The Theosophical Quarterly. XXIX, No. 3 (January 1932): 237-249; Hargrove, Ernest Temple. “Letters From W.Q. Judge V.” The Theosophical Quarterly XXX, No. 1 (July 1932): 258-267.
[48] Judge, William Q. “Bogus Mahatma Messages.” The Path. Vol. IX, No. 10 (January 1895): 302-202; “Send Your Mahatma Messages To Mr. Judge For Consideration.” The Sun. (New York, New York) January 13, 1895.
[49] Neresheimer, Emil August. “Some Reminiscences Of William Q. Judge.” February 24, 1932.
[50] Hargrove, Ernest Temple. “Letters From W.Q. Judge V.” The Theosophical Quarterly. XXX, No. 1 (July 1932): 27-38.
[51] “Personal.” The Galveston Daily News. (Galveston, Texas) June 26, 1895; “A Yogi Vexes Theosophs.” The Sun. (New York, New York,) November 2, 1896.
[52] Roman, S. Rhett. “Countess DiBrazza.” Men And Matters. Vol. IV, No. 4 (March 1898): 36-37; Kilvert, Emily M.C. “A Woman In Washington.” The International. Vol. VII, No. 1 (July 1899): 54-60.
[53] “No Money Needed For Pardon.” The Boston Globe. (Boston, Massachusetts) July 29, 1895; “Plea For Life.” The Boston Globe. (Boston, Massachusetts) July 31, 1895.
[54] “Mahatma’s Name Is Kitty.” The Sun. (New York, New York) May 18, 1896; “Mahatmas Set Sail.” The Trenton Evening Times. (Trenton, New Jersey) June 7, 1896; “A Yogi Vexes Theosophs.” The Sun. (New York, New York) November 2, 1896.
[55] Salwen, Peter. Upper West Side Story: A History and Guide. Abbeville Press. New York, New York. (1989): 319.
[56] Wright states: “Having been informed by members of the Society in London that my good name and character are being attacked, and charges made against me by persons who have not as yet even informed me of their intention of so doing, I would like you to make room for the following in your September issue: Mr. Alfred Faulding states that on a letter received by him from me some weeks ago, were written some words in another handwriting from my own. He therefore accuses me (to others, not to myself,) of having written the sentence or sentences in that other handwriting and of trying to make him believe these were written by the Master. As I did not put the writing there, and as I did not cause anyone else to put the writing there, and as I was not aware until I thus heard through a third party of its existence on my letter, I have written to Mr. Faulding denying such charge and make this public statement in order that all friends may know of the actual facts in the case. Whether the writing has emanated from the Master, or whether it was put there by Mr. Faulding himself, or whether he handed the letter to somebody else who put it there or caused it to be put there, has not been made clear. Certain it is that I did not put it on, and certain it is that Mr. Faulding has stated that the writing is there. It seems to me that all have had lessons enough in accusing brothers of misdeeds. To suspect another of an act of evil is often quite as bad from an occult point of view as to have done the act yourself. I could wish Mr. Faulding, whom I always believed to be a friend, for his own sake to be less Anxious of thus trying to hurt the characters of those who have done him no injury.” [Wright, Claude Falls. “Unfounded Charges.” The Path. Vol. X, No. 6. (September 1895): 191-192.]
[57] In a letter to Hargrove in October 1895, Judge writes: “Read enclosed and then return to me. The envelope is the one in which came the paper by Omega. It was sent over to me by [—,] who seems affected by it. I am not, but see ignorance and fraud in it. I want your intuition also on it, and on the affair which C.F.W.’s letter details.” [Hargrove, Ernest Temple. “Letters From W.Q. Judge Pt. VII.” The Theosophical Quarterly. Vol. XXX, No. 3 (January 1933): 206-212.]
[58] “Mystified Theosophists.” The Sun. (New York, New York.) January 23, 1896.
[59] Neresheimer, Emil August. “Some Reminiscences Of William Q. Judge.” February 24, 1932.
[60] Neresheimer, Emil August. “Some Reminiscences Of William Q. Judge.” February 24, 1932.
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