MRS. GREEN'S MEDIAL HISTORY.
The following is a partial history of the development and mediumistic
experiences of Mrs. Lizzie S. Green, the medium chosen by the spirits in
transmitting the matter contained in this volume:
She was born in Jefferson county, Kentucky, on the second day of December,
1844, and consequently at this writing is in her thirty-eighth year.
The following narrative of her mediumship was written by her husband,
dictated by herself, and when written out was pronounced by her to be
correct, and she adopts it her own. It is believed that this briefly
recited history can not fail to be interesting to the general reader,
since it contains matter and experiences not only absorbingly interesting
but truly wonderful, and evidences the existence of a power that all
thoughtful and candid persons will agree is worthy of investigation.
Those who have enjoyed Mrs. Green's acquaintance socially for years
invariably speak of her as a truly honest woman, faithful wife, loving
mother, steadfast friend, in intellectual capacity far above and beyond
her educational advantages, and as possessed of many other sterling
qualities of heart. Those who have come in contact with her in the
exercise of her medial gifts can not fail to have been impressed with
her frankness, simplicity of character, and the unquestionable honesty of
her nature.
[Illustration]
This tribute to her integrity and moral worth is given because well
merited, and by one who not desiring notoriety and fame wishes simply to
be known as
A FRIEND.
NARRATIVE OF HER MEDIUMSHIP.
"My conscious mediumship began in the fall of 1868. It commenced by the
opening of my spiritual vision, enabling me to see spirits, scenes,
landscapes, etc., in their spirit world. When in the proper state or
condition of passivity I have been permitted to behold innumerable throngs
of spirits, and at times to hear their voices. The phase of clairaudience
added to my clairvoyance I prized highly, and sorely regret that shortly
afterwards a fit of sickness deprived me of the gift of hearing spirit
voices, and for a time seriously retarded my other mediumistic
development. I am happy to be able to state, however, that with my gradual
restoration to health my clairvoyant perceptions began to increase in
power and beauty, and now the voices of the arisen dear ones again greet
my anxious and ever attentive ears.
"I desire to state in this connection that in all my intercourse with
spirits they have never deceived me in a single isolated instance. They
have always been truthful and straightforward in their statements and
dealings with me.
"In the earlier stages of my mediumship and still sometimes I was
frequently controlled to personate the peculiar and characteristic
idiosyncracies of spirits during earth life, and to delineate their
sickness and death. Sometimes I would be rendered entirely unconscious and
at other times only partially so. I shall never forget one memorable
occasion of complete unconsciousness and the occurrence during it as
related subsequently by eye witnesses. An old lady was present in the
circle who I had never met before, and of whose history I had no means of
obtaining the slightest knowledge. At the time I was wholly ignorant as to
whether she had ever been a mother or the maternal head of a family, until
I saw and described minutely a spirit standing by her side, who she
readily recognized as her deceased son. 'What was the cause of his death?'
she eagerly inquired. Almost instantly my consciousness was suspended,
preceded by a violent tremulous motion all over my frame. I fell to the
floor in a violent fit, and so terrible was it, and so true to nature in
all its terrible details that no little alarm was manifested by the
various members of the circle. It thoroughly demoralized and threw them
into consternation. I need only add that old Mother Thompson (for that was
her name) has never since doubted the return of the spirit of her son
George, for the poor man had not only suffered a quarter of a century from
that appalling affliction, epileptic fits, but actually died in one. I
soon recovered my normal condition and received the apology from the
spirit for having used me so roughly, stating that his extreme anxiety to
convince his beloved mother of his presence induced him to disregard
delicacy and to overcome all obstacles in the way of the accomplishment of
his purpose.
"A little girl came to me on a certain occasion and said to me, 'Please go
and see my mother and tell her I am not dead.' 'Where does your mother
live?' I inquired. After giving me the necessary directions where and how
to find her, I said: 'But your mother is a stranger to me, and perhaps if
I go to her on an errand of that kind she will drive me from her door.'
'No she won't,' interposed the little pleader, 'she will be glad to learn
that I am not under the cold ground but alive.' I marshaled the courage to
go, yet I greatly feared the result. I was met at the door by the one I
desired to see, and without giving sufficient time to explain the object
of my call, I was cordially welcomed indoors. After being seated, and
after the usual courtesies had passed, I opened the subject by saying,
'You have a little girl that has gone to the other world?' 'Yes,' said
she, falling into tears, 'she was a dear, darling child, and I have had no
rest since she left me. She was the idol of my heart, and it seems that I
can never become reconciled to her death. Really, at times, I can scarcely
realize that she is dead.' Here a pause ensued, and her grief was so
intense that the waters of sympathetic sorrow involuntarily flowed down my
own cheeks. Rallying, however, as quickly as I could, I said: 'My good
woman, your Mary is not dead. She stands there by your side and wants me
to say to you, 'Mother, I am not dead; do not weep for me, for I am still
with you.' 'How! What does this mean?' exclaimed the mother in apparent
bewilderment, 'I saw her poor little precious body consigned to the cold
and cheerless grave.' 'Yes,' I interrupted, 'but her spirit--the immortal
and only valuable part of herself--was not buried beneath the ground.
Hold, she wishes me to describe her, and further, to prove her identity.
She is a bright, blue-eyed girl of eleven or twelve summers, light auburn
hair naturally inclined to curl, and falls in beautiful ringlets around
her neck, forehead of the Grecian mold, face even and rounded, with a mark
resembling a raspberry under her right eye, and she died from scarlatina.'
'Why, did you know Mary when she was living?' was immediately asked. I
assured her I did not. 'Does the description fit her?' I inquired.
'Perfectly,' was the reply; 'who told you about her,' she added. I
answered: 'My good woman, believe me, until to-day I did not know you were
in existence. The facts I have stated to you I obtained from your Mary
without the slightest knowledge of either your or her history.' After
further conversation on the subject, and after describing other spirits,
whom she readily recognized, the interview terminated, with a pressing
invitation to return, and the assurances that she had derived from my
visit inexpressible joy and happiness. In a few days thereafter I was
unexpectedly called away from St. Louis and have never returned. Letters
from friends who were cognizant of the circumstance as related by herself,
inform me that Mrs. Collins is happy in the knowledge of spiritualism, has
become reconciled to the temporary absence as to physical form of her
child, and sends me her benedictions.
"In 1869 while holding a circle at Aurora, Ind., composed of a few
intimate friends and neighbors, a gentleman--a stranger to all of
us--applied for admission, stating that he had been left by the east bound
train, and not being able to resume his journey until the following
morning, and hearing of my mediumship, he desired, if agreeable, to have a
sitting, or be allowed to join the circle for that occasion. My husband
cordially assented. Our stranger friend had been seated but a short time
when I saw a spirit forming by his side. I watched the process, and to my
utter astonishment, which I at once made known, the spirit had a rope
around his neck and presented a frightful appearance. I observed, 'I see a
spirit with a rope around his neck, with tongue protruding,' etc.
'Describe him, madam, if you please,' spoke the stranger. I did so; the
spirit for the purpose changing his appearance to that of his natural
condition. The stranger became very much excited, arose, seized his hat,
and nervously remarked, 'This is a great test to me. Several years ago I
was sheriff of an interior county in Indiana, and that man, Jim Roberts,
was sentenced to be hanged for the murder of his father-in-law, and I am
the one who executed the sentence of the court.' When in the act of taking
his departure, he suddenly turned around, and plaintively inquired: 'Has
Jim got any thing against me? I only did my duty as an officer of the
law.' On being assured that no ill feeling was entertained by the spirit
against him, but that he appeared as he did more for the purpose of a test
than any thing else, he took his departure. I have never seen him since.
He gave me, however, considerable notoriety in the community by relating
his wonderful experience with a spiritual medium, and advised every one to
shun mediums unless they were prepared and willing to have every thing
connected with their past lives revealed and made known. Perhaps this
abused spiritualism may yet become the instrumentality of compelling
people to walk uprightly in their dealings with their fellowmen.
"These are a few among hundreds of such instances that I might relate, but
the space allotted will not permit. I wish now briefly to refer to another
phase of my mediumship. At various intervals I have had prophetic warning,
and prophetic revelations have also been given me. I have also had what
might be appropriately termed panoramic visions of past events of those
both in and out of the body, and of events to transpire in the future of
earth life. These visions, especially those prognostic of the future, have
been truly wonderful. It is an oft quoted saying that 'coming events cast
their shadows before,' and there remains no doubt in my mind but what
spirits--whether all, I am not prepared to say--can sufficiently forecast
the future as to reveal events and actions concealed from mortal
discernment in the bosom of coming time. Let me mention a few instances in
my own experience as evidence of the existence of this power.
"In 1869, myself and husband were holding a seance alone, at Aurora, Ind.
We were living in the lower part of the city, near the river bank. Aurora
is situated on the banks of the Ohio river, twenty-five miles below
Cincinnati, Ohio. A little above the center of the city fronting the river
a small stream, called Hogan creek, empties into the Ohio. Three or four
hundred yards above the junction of the two streams and on the banks of
the aforementioned creek, is located the mammoth distillery, owned by
Messrs. T. & J. W. Gaff & Co. It has been consumed three times by fire and
as often rebuilt. At the time of which I am speaking, we put blankets up
to the windows in the room to be used for our dark circle, and by this
means effectually excluded all external light. After extinguishing our
lamp light, we sat patiently, awaiting manifestations. In the course of a
half hour I saw and said, 'I see a large brick building on fire. The light
from its ascending flames is flooding the river in front of the city.
There, I see a poor man burning up in the fire. I see its majestic walls
crumbling to pieces and falling into a huge mass of ruins.' At this
juncture, we heard out doors the cry of fire! fire! and soon the bells of
the quiet little city began to announce to its citizens that the insatiate
fire-fiend was engaged in his terrible work of devastation and ruin. We
hastened to the door only to behold, true to the vision previously given,
the bosom of the river as brilliantly lighted up as though illuminated by
the rays of the sun at his meridian height. T. & J. W. Gaff & Co.'s
distillery was on fire and burned to ruins, and another concomitant of the
vision was too sadly verified--a man was literally burned to ashes.
"Soon after this occurrence, a very dear lady friend called to see me. She
contemplated a trip to Indianapolis, and intended to start on the morrow
train. I said to her, 'Do not start to-morrow. Defer it until the
succeeding day. I see an accident on the road, and I see written in the
air these words, "Within twenty-four hours." I prevailed on her to
postpone the trip in accordance with the warning of the vision. She had no
occasion to regret it for the train on which she intended to be a
passenger jumped the track before it reached its destination, and while no
one was very seriously injured, yet it might have been otherwise had my
friend been on board. She might not have escaped so luckily.
"The shocking casualty of the collision between the United States mail
steamers America and the United States, on the Ohio river, between
Cincinnati and Louisville, will be well remembered, especially by the
people along the line of that route. The night of the painful occurrence I
was a member of a circle held at the residence of Mr. Lewis Shirley, of
Jeffersonville, Ind. I saw the collision, the boats on fire, etc., at an
hour antedating by several hours the time when the unfortunate event
transpired. So thoroughly was I convinced that the verification of the
vision was close at hand that I prevailed on a son of Mr. Shirley to meet
the carrier-boy at the ferry landing early the following morning to
procure a copy of a Louisville daily paper. When the boy returned with the
paper I was not surprised to find in its columns an account of the
disaster, which I had plainly and vividly seen a number of hours prior to
its actual occurrence.
"On another occasion I saw a fire raging. I saw it was a two-story brick
house. I saw men rolling barrels out of the burning structure, and from
the rapidity of their movements and the ease and facility with which the
barrels seemed to be handled and propelled along, I concluded they were
empty and so expressed myself. My husband inquired, 'Where is the fire
at?' I placed myself in as passive a state as possible, but could get no
answer. The questions were then asked: 'Is it Louisville?' 'No.' 'Is it
Jeffersonville?' 'No.' 'New Albany?' 'No.' 'Indianapolis?' 'Yes.' These
answers respectively I saw written in the air or what appeared so to me.
On that night, as we learned by the papers subsequently, a large barrel
factory at Indianapolis was destroyed by fire.
"I will now relate one of a more startling nature and of more recent
occurrence. The ill-fated steamer Pat Rogers was at the time of her
destruction in the mail line service, and plied between Cincinnati, Ohio,
and Louisville, Kentucky. She left port Louisville for Cincinnati at 2 P.
M. At 4 o'clock, same afternoon, and two hours after her departure from
Louisville, and nine or ten hours before the terrible casualty, I saw
written in the air, 'Steamboat disaster to-night.' My husband remarked:
'See if you can not get the name of the boat.' Presently I saw plainly the
name PAT ROGERS, which was immediately followed by presenting the whole
vision, the conflagration, and passengers struggling for life amid the
angry and turbulent waves.
"I might narrate many more instances of this kind that belong to my
individual experience, and volumes might be written if similar experiences
of others should be included.
"I come now to speak of my present powers and their development. When my
husband had entered upon his second term as Mayor of the city of Aurora,
he built us a home in a high altitude on a hillside overlooking the
beautiful city in the valley below. Here in the purer atmosphere with
quiet surroundings were my present powers brought forth by a noble and
trusty band of spirits whom I shall never cease to love for their fidelity
to me and to truth, and for their ability and unceasing and intelligent
efforts to advance the great and blessed cause of spiritualism. My dear
spirit sister, Alice Vernette Winesburgh _nee_ Shirley, who, in her day,
was a marvelous physical medium, has been and still is the active
controlling spirit of my band, with others great and good, who sustain and
aid her. She always signs her name simply NETTIE, by which she was called
and known in earth life. She has clung to me with the true devotion of a
sister, and has sustained herself in the position assigned her by the band
with signal fidelity and ability. I shall speak more of this band toward
the close.
"In obedience to the request of the spirits we formed a circle for
development, and found two gentlemen and their wives who were sufficiently
liberal, and who had natural tendencies toward a belief in spiritualism.
They agreed and we met twice each week, and it was not long before we
discovered that power for physical manifestations was being developed. We
sat in the dark around an ordinary plain stand, on which was placed a
slate and pencil, a small bell, and a paper horn. We also would place on
it a goblet filled with water. The manifestations began by the stand
moving around and tipping. This phenomenon soon occurred in the light, and
by means of it we at first were directed and instructed, using the
alphabet in spelling out words. We met regularly and sat patiently. For a
few months the development was slow but surely indicated progress, and the
invisible operators continually exhorted us to patience, promising certain
results from time to time, which they invariably performed. They stated to
us what may not be generally known, namely, that all developments with a
view to permanence are slow, advancing cautiously, step by step, leaving
nothing neglected or uncared for. Besides the health and well being of the
medium should be carefully guarded and too oft by hurrying forward the
development ruinous consequences resulted to the instrument and the
success of the mediumship. We soon noted the fact that we were in the
hands of careful, prudent, and able spirits, and we therefore implicitly
obeyed their directions, and have never since had any occasion to regret
it. Finally the bell began to ring, and the various members of the circle
were touched by materialized spirit hands. Also, names and words were
written on the slate and occasionally materialized locks of hair would be
found on the stand upon closing the seance, which, in a few hours, would
wholly dematerialize. This indicated materialization of spirit forms and
was so announced to us. The next step was whispering to us through the
paper trumpet, and by that means they were now enabled to give directions.
After the lapse of about twelve months we were directed to procure a
curtain for materialization, which we accordingly did, but before this the
manifestations in the dark had become simply remarkable, not to say
extraordinary. On putting up the curtain and taking my position behind it,
several sittings passed without any appreciable result, until finally
faces were discovered protruding from behind and above the curtain, two or
three at a time, and after this it was not long until full form
materializations were obtained. Upon the expiration of my husband's term
of office, the band insisted that we should move to Cincinnati, if only
for a year, assigning as the important reason, that they would be enabled
there to collect and appropriate new elements necessary in the completion
of the development. We had by this time learned that the wisest thing was
to obey, and consequently in July, 1881, we moved to the Queen City. Soon
after we got there the band concluded to abandon for the time being any
further attempt to perfect the phase of materialization and demanded a tin
trumpet, which was made according to their directions. In length,
thirty-eight inches; at large end, four and one-half inches in diameter,
and at the small opening one-half inch; and we commenced holding trumpet
seances with amazing and astonishing results. Hundreds of the best
citizens of Cincinnati can testify to the wonders of the trumpet circle in
my presence. One seance written up by Judge A. G. W. Carter, of
Cincinnati, I here insert as illustrating partially only the magnitude of
this power. It appeared in that excellent paper, _Mind and Matter_, of
Philadelphia:
"My wife and myself, by invitation, were present on Thursday night,
January 26th, at a seance given to a select circle of ladies and gentlemen
by Mr. and Mrs. Green, at No. 309 Longworth street, this city, where Mrs.
Green daily and nightly sits, giving private seances through her
mediumship to any person or persons who desire to converse with the
spirits, or see manifestations, and learn about the spirit world. There
were about twelve persons, ladies and gentlemen, present, and being seated
according to the direction of the spirits, a dark circle for spirit
manifestations was held, and with extraordinary success. There was a large
trumpet or horn standing beside the table, and a small music box and a
guitar and a tambourine on the table.
"It was not long before the music box began its music, as well as the
guitar and tambourine, and they all floated through the air, around the
circle, and above our heads, and sometimes touching each one of the
circle, as they were giving forth their music. Singing was indulged in by
the members of the circle, and during the songs, the long horn or trumpet
moved from its place, and went about the circle, through the air; and
through it, or inside of it, different spirits accompanied the singing
with their voices; sometimes so loudly as to take the full burden of the
songs upon themselves. Then, when there was a cessation of singing, by
means of the trumpet the spirits would freely converse with us--some in
whispers, and others in sonorous voices, so that the whole company could
readily hear and easily distinguish what was said.
"At one time one of the company, a Swede, Mr. Helleberg, sang a Swedish
song, accompanying himself on the guitar; and in singing and playing this
song in his native and, to us, foreign language, he was accompanied by a
loud female voice, singing in his language, through this same horn. Mr.
Helleberg then sang a Swedish love song, and was again, in perfect soprano
harmony, accompanied by the female spirit voice.
"These demonstrations I thought were most remarkable, as I had never seen
nor heard the like before, and they fairly attested the great mediumistic
ability of Mrs. Green. At this time, and indeed during the whole seance,
Mrs. Green was in a profound trance at the table, and kept so by a rough
and gruff Indian spirit, who called himself 'Chip,' and occasionally spoke
to us in a rough and gruff way about his 'medy,' and the power he had to
invoke and exercise in keeping her in the profound trance condition. Ever
and anon, also, a smart, witty and talkative Indian maiden, who called
herself 'Winnie,' by the permission and condescension of 'Chip,' would
take possession of the medium, and talk most freely and interestingly to
each and all of the members of the circle.
"And, by the way, I must relate this peculiar and remarkable fact, the
only time of its occurrence in all my long experience with the spirits.
There was in the circle another trance medium, Mrs. Taylor, who was put
into the trance condition very easily and readily. Well, this spirit
'Winnie' would exchange from Mrs. Green to Mrs. Taylor every once in a
while, talking through each medium with equal facility, and to the great
delight and edification of the members of the circle. This was indeed
something remarkable, and I ventured to inquire of the spirit 'Winnie' if
this was a common occurrence. She replied, through one of the mediums,
that it was so uncommon that she never knew of it occurring at a circle
sitting before; that spirits always had their own medium, and it was very
seldom that they would or could talk through more than one chosen medium,
and especially at the same sitting of a circle, as was the case with us.
"To narrate all that occurred at this remarkable seance would fill many
printed columns. Sufficient for the present to say, that we had all sorts
of manifestations from the spirits through the gifted medium, Mrs. Green,
for the long period of three full hours, and yet the medium or the spirits
were not at all exhausted, and apparently not even fatigued. The
manifestations, it seems to me, were quite equal to any I ever witnessed
from Maud Lord, or any of the best mediums, and convinced me beyond all
manner of doubt, that the gifted Mrs. Lizzie S. Green is destined to take
a prominent and important stand in the glorious domain of mediumship.
Angels bless and take care of her in all her ways.
"A. G. W. C."
"In the meantime, the independent slate writing progressed wonderfully,
and now constitutes one of my best and most highly cherished phases. They
write now with the utmost facility with their own materialized hands, and,
strange as it may seem, they have actually written without the presence of
any visible pencil at all. They have written long messages on the inner
surfaces of double slates, the parties holding on to them at the time the
messages were being written. They have done this for me in the presence of
C. G. Helleberg, John Winterburn and William Layton, and others, honorable
people of Cincinnati, who will take great pleasure in certifying to the
same. I do not refer to these truly marvelous things in a spirit of
egotism or self-boasting, for I am entitled to no credit except in so far
as I may have, by prudent conduct, honest living and carefulness, assisted
in securing the proper conditions for the invisible intelligences--I mean
invisible to mortal eyes only. While I naturally feel proud of these noble
gifts, I have learned to be humble with them, as my spirit guides have so
often admonished me to be. And I feel like using them for the benefit of
humanity and the upbuilding of truth.
"My clairvoyance was an early and permanent development and still remains
with me, the other development not seeming to materially interfere with
it.
"I have had with me for many years two Indian spirits, from whose
association I have derived great pleasure; and I have ever found them
true, faithful and honest. The male Indian has never given me his full and
proper name, telling me that it was ugly. He was of the Chippewa tribe,
and has always been known as 'Chip.' Chip abhors fire-water and tobacco,
and every thing immoral, and in very many respects widely differs from the
leading characteristics of his people. The Indian maiden, whom we call
WINNIE, came to me in 1868, and gave her name as Winniepesaga, and said
while quite young she was drowned in a stream of water in the Far West.
She is sprightly, quite talkative, exceedingly smart and interesting in
conversation. Naturally gifted with clairvoyant powers and prophetic
abilities, she has given very many remarkable tests, and by reason of her
equability of temper, general good disposition and real cleverness in
colloquial gifts, she is generally well liked by all who have come in
contact with her spirit ministrations. She has controlled me for years,
does yet, and her influence is sweet, soothing and strengthening. Captain
Oliver C. Curry died at Jeffersonville, Ind., in 1874, and was a lawyer by
profession, and was for a long time city attorney of that city. He was a
cousin of mine, and has belonged to the band for two years, and has been
exceedingly active, especially in the trumpet seances. By his suavity,
intelligence and witty sayings, he has made himself quite a favorite with
many. Assisting in the development, I have had with me several spirits
familiar with the laws of science, including a distinguished French
scientist, our own Franklin and Professor Mapes. They seem to have only
been engaged with the band temporarily in aiding the advancement of the
development. They have my sincere thanks and profound gratitude. I come
now to speak of another spirit, although of an humble name, yet a grand
and highly progressed one, who has been my leading counsellor, adviser and
friend. In 1868, I laid away the lifeless form of a dear little boy, and
in my unutterable grief this noble spirit first appeared to me and gave me
words of consolation. He has been with me ever since. He passed out of the
form in the State of Georgia at the early age of thirty-three and had been
at the time he came to me upwards of fifty years in spirit life. He always
inspires me as being the very embodiment of purity itself, and his whole
ambition seems to be to do good. This spirit also possesses wonderful
prophetic power, and communicates with me only in case of an exigency,
when I am in trouble, or otherwise need the sustaining and guiding power
of the angel world. He gives me his name as HENRY TEANEY, and no Christian
ever worshiped the gentle Nazarene with more devotion than I do my friend
and guide, Henry Teaney. He is pure, noble and godlike, loves the right,
hates the wrong, and never condescends to any thing little, hateful, or
mean.
"Here I close after again returning thanks from the inmost recesses of my
heart to my honored and noble band of spirits engaged with and through me
in the great work of advancing the kingdom of God in the dissemination of
truths vouchsafed to the children of earth through spirit communion."