Central Spiritualist Church of Rochester

In the late 1920's there was some discord among the Spiritualists of Rochester regarding the successive leadership of Plymouth Spiritualist Church. The transition of successive Pastors was always a complicated one, and with several differing opinions and views on what direction Plymouth should be lead there was tension among the Spiritualists.

 In 1927 the highly qualified Rev. Walter Foss of Chicago was voted to be brought in to solve some of the issues the Spiritualists of Plymouth were dealing with. Born in Toronto, Canada, Rev. Foss was a former Presbyterian Minister who converted to Spiritualism. He was trained in Philosophy, Natural Sciences, and Mathematics at the University of Manitoba, and was a graduate of the Auburn Theological Seminary. He was in charge of the Educational Center of the Illinois State Spiritualist Association, and was the Pastor of Central Spiritualist Church in Chicago.

Part's of Rev. Foss's plan were recorded in an interview with the Democrat and Chronicle, which included "constructive education work for both children and adults" of the congregation, which included both biblical education as well as education in Spiritualist principles and phenomena. Rev. Foss also emphasized the need to focus on cooperation within the community rather than competition.

Rev. Foss served as a very popular minister with the Rochester public and with most of the congregation of Plymouth, however there were still those that were not satisfied with Rev. Foss's plans for Plymouth, and tensions still existed within the Church.

In June 1929 Rev. Foss stepped down as Pastor of Plymouth Spiritualist Church, and ended his membership with the Church. He had recently been elected to a position within the Lily Dale Assembly and dedicated much of his time and focus to this. However, a few months later in September Rev. Foss announced that he would be opening a new Church in Rochester, which he hoped would offer him an opportunity to advance the philosophy of Spiritualism.

He named his church Central Spiritualist Church, after his previous congregation in Chicago. A large amount of the congregation of Plymouth Spiritualist Church renounced their membership and joined the Central Spiritualist Church of Rochester, the recorded amount given in a Democrat and Chronicle article was some 62 people.

Central Spiritualist Church quickly became an enormously popular church due to the charisma of Rev. Foss, his outreach programs in education, enthusiastic speakers, and the support of a large portion of the Spiritualist community of Rochester. Unfortunately within less than a year Rev. Foss suddenly passed away at age 52.

After the death of Rev. Foss the leadership of Central Spiritualist Church was lead by another very popular minister, the British Spiritualist Rev. Alexander McIvor-Tyndal. Rev. Alexander was an Educator trained in Natural Sciences and Psychology, he was also known for his skills as a talented Palm Reader, and had a deep understanding of Psychic and Esoteric phenomena. His enthusiastic lectures and demonstrations of Mediumship allowed Central Spiritualist Church in a very short amount of time to flourish and become one of the most popular and active Spiritualist Churches in Rochester's history.

With a natural charisma and personal charm Rev. Alexander was able to engage the public in very interesting ways, while he was extremely well versed in Spiritualist philosophy, he also incorporated his knowledge of Psychology and Eastern Philosophy, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, into his lectures.

Rev. Alexander was also a very adamant about emphasizing Healing in Central Spiritualist Church, vocally expressing this sentiment at a State Convention held at Plymouth Spiritualist Church, that he felt Spiritual Healing was being neglected in Spiritualist Churches.

Rev. Alexander was granted a leave of absence by the Board of Trustees of Central Spiritualist Church to tour on a lecture circuit throughout the United States, his wife, Rev. C. Laura McIvor Tyndall, assumed temporary duties as Pastor of the Church.

Upon his return Rev. Alexander stepped down from the pulpit of Central Spiritualist Church, he and his wife went on a trip to visit his family home in England, and eventually went on a lecture tour of Europe, and the United States, returning to assist with work in the General Assembly of Spiritualists as well as Lily Dale.

After Rev. Alexander stepped down as Pastor, Central Spiritualist Church remained open for about five more years. Unfortunately few of the Pastors had the natural charisma and popularity that Rev. Foss and Rev. Alexander seemed to excite among Spiritualists.

While the Church did not last long, it trained several people who would go on to assist in teaching Spiritualism and demonstrating mediumship in several of the other area churches as Mediums, Healers, and Pastors.

 Perhaps the most notable contribution that Central Spiritualist Church made on the history of Spiritualism in Rochester is that it's foundation and success actually set the stage for a new era of Spiritualism in Rochester: in the coming years the massive influence of Plymouth Spiritualist Church as a central authority began to wane, and the new normal for area churches in Rochester began to move from a single grand shrine of Spiritualism, to smaller area churches functioning together in cooperation as a community, just as Rev. Foss had hoped for.

Amy & Isaac Post

Although the Spiritualist movement has no one single founder, perhaps the most influential couple that set the direction for American Spiritualism were Amy and Isaac Post. 

Amy Post was born Amy Kirby in 1802. She belonged to a family who were members of the Religious Society of Friends, (sometimes shortened to Friends, or Quakers). Isaac Post was born in 1798, also to a Quaker Family. In 1821 he married Amy's eldest sister, Hannah Kirby. In 1827 Hannah fell extremely ill and Amy moved to Hannah and Isaac's home to assist with caring for their children. Hannah passed away shortly after, and Amy stayed with Isaac to assist with caring for the children. 

Amy and Isaac eventually married, and moved to Rochester on North Plymouth Ave (their home was located at the current site of the Hochstein School of Music), Isaac went into business as a Pharmacist; the couple had four children, Jacob, Joseph, Matilda, and Willet. 

Amy and Isaac were devout Quakers; the Quaker movement started in England in the late 1600's with the teachings of George Fox. Quakers believe that each individual can experience God directly, as an inner light, and that one should live a life of simplicity, truth, equality, and peace. At the time, Quakers were also known for their habit of wearing plain clothes, familiar speech, and refusal to swear oaths. 

Amy and Isaac became dissatisfied with their fellow Quakers, when their community voiced that they felt the couple was becoming too worldly due to engaging in political activities. Although all Quakers agreed with the ideals of Abolitionism and Women's Suffrage, most preferred to do so from a distance. Amy and Isaac disaffiliated with their group and joined a more liberal Quaker Meeting which was closer to their own personal belief that it was a moral duty to engage with society in movements in order to promote causes that might bring about peace and reform, rather than disengaging from society. 

Both Amy and Isaac were committed to Women's Suffrage and Abolitionism. The couple were friends with suffragettes Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony. The couple attended the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention, and assisted in organizing the Rochester Women's Rights Convention. 

Both Amy and Isaac were also extremely active Abolitionists, and were two of the founding members of the Western New York-Anti Slavery Society. They hosted several speakers in their home in Rochester who they became life long friends with, such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and William Cooper Nell. 

With the assistance of Frederick Douglass, their home became a stop on the underground railroad, at one point offering sanctuary to 20 individuals. On a trip to Canada, Amy became good friends with Harriet Jacobs, and encouraged her to write her autobiography, which she later did in 1861 as Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. 

During all of this activity, the Posts took in the two young daughters of the Fox family of Hydesville, a small village just outside Rochester. The girls had become famous over night for their ability to communicate with spirits of the dead through rapping noises and knocks. Amy and Isaac encouraged the girls to develop their gifts, and accompanied them with their older sister Leah to demonstrate mediumship at Corinthian Hall in Rochester. 

Amy and Isaac quickly became devoted Spiritualists. According to the testimony of Leah Fox, one evening when the girls first arrived in Rochester the spirits continued to knock constantly and persistently through out the night. The next morning they were visited by Isaac Post who suggested that the perhaps the spirits would explain what they wanted if they called out the alphabet and allowed for them to spell their messages through the knocks. 

This was the first message given by the spirits in Rochester, New York: "Dear Friends, you must proclaim these truths to the world. This is the dawning of a new era; and you must not try to conceal it any longer. When you do your duty, God will protect you, and good spirits will watch over you." 

Early Spiritualism as a religious movement was incredibly influenced by the Quaker beliefs and practices of the Posts. Their dedication to reform became a hallmark of early Spiritualism, to be a Spiritualist was to be a Reformer. To be a Spiritualist was a statement that you were committed to bettering the world and uplifting the oppressed.  

Isaac in particular felt moved to develop his own mediumship, and found that he was gifted as a Writing Medium and practiced Automatic Writing. He published a book in 1852 called Voices From the Spirit World, the work contained letters he received through Automatic Writing from the Spirits of various individuals such as Quaker leaders George Fox, Elias Hicks, and others figures such as Benjamin Franklin. 

These Spirits gave their blessings to Spiritualists, offered hope and consolation to a positive existence in the Spirit World, and offered courage and admonitions to continue to work for the causes of Reform to aid in assisting the world as the work of God. 

Other Spirits such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson offered their own encouragement, and warnings of the evils of racism, slavery, and social inequality; explaining that they were now repentant for not having advocated peace and abolitionism in life. 

In 1883 Amy post and a close circle of eight friends began the Rochester Spiritualist Society, with Amy voted in as Vice-President. The Society regularly met at the Post home on Sophia Street regularly for public demonstrations of mediumship, and lectures from local speakers and other well known Spiritualists. 

In 1885 the Rochester Spiritualist Society hosted an "anniversary meeting" to "commemorate the thirty seventh anniversary of the Modern Spiritualism." In 1886 the society converted two upper rooms of Amy Posts home into a library and reading room, which was "supplied with the works of leading Free Thinkers such as Voltaire, Thomas Paine, and others." The library was free and was open to the public. 

 Isaac passed away in 1872, and Amy passed away in 1889. The graves of Amy and Isaac Post are in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY. Amy and Isaac Post dedicated their entire lives to helping others, and uplifting society through acts of loving-kindness, and a passionate dedication to the belief that we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Rev. Frances Adam

Rev. Frances Adam took over as head pastor of Divine Inspiration after the death of Rev. Harrs. At the time it was recorded in the Democrat and Chronicle that she was 'the youngest ordained Spiritualist pastor in the area.'

During the beginning of her ministry Rev. Frances dedicated much of her work to dealing with many of the legal issues surrounding the transfer of property of the original site of the church, and eventually secured their current location on Appleton Street. She managed this all while continuing the keep the congregation united and in good spirits.

In 1943 through her leadership and dedication to Divine Inspiration, a beautiful Healing Shrine was built in the prayer garden in the back of the property.

A special service was held for the dedication, and the grounds and shrine were blessed in a ceremony by the Rev. Converse E. Nickerson, a prolific Spiritualist writer, theologian, and missionary of the General Assembly of Spiritualists.

According to the Church of Divine Inspiration's Website, Rev. Adam continued as Pastor until 1945. She continued to serve the Rochester Spiritualist Community giving lectures and serving in churches.

The Birth of Plymouth Spiritualist Church

In 1893 several prominent Spiritualists met in Chicago to form the National Spiritualist Association. The leaders hoped that by forming an organization it could help promote the teachings of Spiritualism to the greater public, and also assist in preventing fraudulent mediums from taking advantage of the public. Among these early leaders were W. H. Bach, James Martin Peebles, and Cora L. V. Scott. 

Each state would eventually form their own auxiliary organization, and in 1897 the New York State Association of Spiritualists was formed. This auxiliary would then change its name in 1914 to the General Assembly of Spiritualists. 

In Rochester, an organization named the First Spiritual Society of Rochester (sometimes documented as First Spiritual Church of Rochester) was chartered through the National Spiritualist Association as a “lay society” and met in various locations throughout the city, such as the home of Mrs. Roxie H. Joslyn (a fairly well to do Spiritualist Medium and Healer) and also in various Halls and Hotels when they planned large lectures or celebrations.

In the early 1900s the First Spiritual Society began plans to purchase a permanent building for their meetings.  In 1906 under the spiritual leadership of Rev. Benjamin Austin the Society purchased a historic Rochester Church on Plymouth Ave that had formerly belonged to a liberal Protestant congregation that had been temporarily renting their building to a small Restorationist Christian congregation known as the Megiddo Mission. 

The new church was officially registered as the First Spiritual Church of Rochester. However, the church almost immediately became known as Plymouth Spiritualist Church; the name was eventually legally changed to Plymouth Spiritualist Church in 1913.

Up until this point, Spiritualists had never truly organized as churches. There had been Societies, and Lyceums, acting as community centers, clubs, or educational organizations, where Spiritualists might meet and give lectures or demonstrate mediumship. There had also been camps, revival meetings, or temporary 'pop up churches' in rented lecture halls,  but not an organized church with a permanent building with a mission to minister to a public congregation.

Plymouth Church became the very first church that had been organized by a group of Spiritualists, making Plymouth the “Mother Church of Modern Spiritualism”

Plymouth Spiritualist Church quickly became known worldwide as the “International Shrine of Spiritualism.” Rochester became not only one of the main centers of Spiritualism from a historical perspective, but also from a religious one.

Plymouth Spiritualist Church was considered one of the most beautiful churches in Rochester, with an imposing bell tower and clock that many citizens could set their watches too, the great shrine to Spiritualism was quite literally the heart of the Spiritualist movement in the United States. The building could fit about 1200 individuals, contained a magnificent library, and had a massive pipe organ with a full choir to match. 

The pulpit, dating back to the days of the church's progressive Protestant heritage, claimed an impressive array of speakers already well before the property became part of the Spiritualist movement in 1906, particularly including Frederick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony.

Plymouth Spiritualist Church was a representative of a Golden Age of Spiritualism, with Rochester, NY at it's Center. It lasted as the unquestioned center for Spiritualism for almost 50 years until the congregation moved from it's location in the 1950s (which I will write about).

Rev. Justin E. Titus

Rev. Justin E. Titus began his role as Pastor of Plymouth in 1929 after the retirement of Rev. Erwood;. Rev. Titus was a graduate of the Morris Pratt Institute (America’s oldest Spiritualist Seminary and College), and served as a Spiritualist Minister, Teacher, and Lecturer around the United States. 

Before arriving in Rochester, he was Pastor of the Spiritualist Science Church, and the Progressive Spiritualist Church of Indianapolis in Indiana, and the Tampa Spiritualist Church in Tampa Florida. At the age of 21 he was appointed Vice-President of Camp Chesterfield, Indiana and later served as President of Camp Etna Maine. He was also a veteran of WWI, which heavily influenced him with a commitment to Anti-War and Pacifist tendencies in his writings. 

Rev. Titus was one of the most educated Spiritualist leaders of Rochester. From his writings, it is evident that he was incredibly familiar with not only the teachings and principles of Modern Spiritualism, but was also highly informed on the subjects of World Religions, English Literature, and Natural Sciences. 

He drew much of his personal spiritual inspiration from Oahspe: A New Bible a book published in 1882 by John Ballou Newbrough that was written through automatic writing. Oahspe is over 900 pages long, and contains incredibly complex non-linear cosmic time cycles, and a detailed cosmic hierarchy of spiritual beings ranging from humans, to inter-dimensional spirits. 

As esoteric as the writing found in Oahspe is, the core messages found in the text are very simple and beautiful, and can be found throughout much of Rev. Titus’s teachings and writings particularly emphasis on ministering angels and spirits, the importance of personal responsibility, and self improvement through prayer, positive thoughts, good works, and vegetarianism. 

Rev. Titus was the author of three books: The Lost Word, Eternal Progression, and Alpha and Omega. He was also the author of several articles in various Spiritualist publications. After several years serving in Rochester, Rev. Titus was called to act as a missionary and traveled the United States lecturing on Spiritualism, and for a period of time he served as Pastor of the World Temple of Light on Sunset Blvd, Hollywood California. 

He later returned to Rochester, NY several times in the 1940s to serve as Pastor of Plymouth Spiritualist Church when a minister was needed. He was the longest recorded serving Pastor in the history of Plymouth Spiritualist Church.

Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle visits Rochester, NY

As many a Spiritualist will proudly tell you, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes, was a very firm believer in Spiritualism. There are hundreds of articles and books available about Doyle’s life and commitment to Spiritualism, many of which he actually wrote himself. For this Spotlight, I would like to share a bit of research that I found.


As with much of what I’ve discovered in researching the history of Spiritualism in Rochester, there are quite a bit of oral traditions and stories passed down, some are a bit difficult to prove, or are only partly true. This little gem though I was proud to learn was true and so much more, I was told by several Spiritualists that “Arthur Conan Doyle visited Rochester” or “Arthur Conan Doyle visited Plymouth!” and I have since discovered not only is this true, but he actually wrote about his experience himself in his work Our Second American Adventure:

“I was interested in my sally to Rochester, for this city is near the place where the Hydesville rappings occurred in 1848, the first time in modern days that actual systematic intercourse has taken place between the two spheres. I had imagined that it was on the edge of the town, when it was actually twenty miles away, so that I had not time in my hasty visit to see the place. The Fox house has been removed by pious hands to Lilydale and the spot is unmarked by any monument [1]. As to the Americans generally, they are quite ignorant of the whole thing, and they open their eyes with surprise when I assure them that this is not some imported religion, but that its origin was entirely American. Still wider do the eyes open when I go on to assure them it was far the most important thing ever came out of their Continent. The years, however, will justify me: of that I am sure.”

“Rochester will always be a place of deep interest for the student of psychic history. To these small farmers of Hydesville it was a great metropolis, and thither they went in the summer of 1848, when the curiosity and interference of their neighbors made their little house uninhabitable. Here the strange rappings, so insignificant in themselves, but so final in their proofs of independent intelligence amazed the populace, and around those murderous passions which every fresh psychic development, from the time of Jesus, has stirred to fury. The whole town was convulsed with excitement and the two little girls, only twelve and fourteen years of age, were summoned before three meetings at Corinthian Hall and were forced to show their powers, each meeting ending by the appointment of  a Committee of Examination. Each Committee in turn was forced to admit the reality of the phenomena. So high did the feeling run that there was talk, very serious talk, of lynching or at least of tarring and feathering the girls. A few brave men gathered round for their protection and eventually smuggled them out and concealed them. The story reflects little credit on the American mob, but they were at least no more brutal than the English mob who at Liverpool and elsewhere chased the Davenports from the stage. Probably the Spiritualists were fortunate in their early trials in so temperate a State as New York. Had they ventured into Illinois or Missouri, as the Mormons did, they might have had their martyrs, and the Fox sisters might have perished as did the brothers Smith. I know no clearer sign of the existence of positive forces of evil than the insensate rage which is excited in some minds by the development of any new spiritual idea, and it is usually the priests of the older dispensation who lead in this devil’s work.”

“While at Rochester I made the acquaintance of Mr. Burr [2], a practical lawyer and also a convinced mystic, who is President of the Spiritual bodies of New York State. I also met Mr. Ebwood [3], an excellent type of spiritualistic clergyman. He has a fine church seating 1,200 people [4]. Most churches of all denominations have a good psychic atmosphere, but I can never remember so fine a one as in this church, and I sat for some minutes enjoying great spiritual peace. It might have been an anteroom to Heaven. There is a good grass plot outside the church, and it seemed to me that if Hydesville is too remote, some small but effective monument might be erected here [5]. But alas! The greatest possible argument which our opponents can use against Spiritualism, and one which none of us can deny, is that it has not prompted its adherents to make those sacrifices of work, time, and money which all other great rising movements have demanded. But the time may come. At present, our richer adherents have certainly cause for shame, for they have left it to the same small group of men to do all the work and, out of modest resources, to find all the money. Their own tenets and knowledge will teach them that this also has to be answered for in the beyond.”

To end on a fun piece of oral history, although it’s not recorded in this particular passage, there is an oral tradition with Rochester Spiritualists that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave a lecture at the original Plymouth Church, and although that church is no longer standing, the original podium from the original church is still in use by Plymouth Spiritualist Church.


Footnote 1: the spot is unmarked by any monument There is actually now a beautiful little structure at the original Fox property called Hydesville Memorial Park. The original house was moved to Lilydale and was lost in a fire, however the foundation of the original home in its original location is intact and is being very well cared for. It’s located at 1510 Hydesville Rd Newark, New York 14513, and I highly recommend adding their facebook and contacting the organization and setting up a tour so you can visit, otherwise you can’t actually get inside. 

Footnote 2: Mr. Burr, a practical lawyer and also a convinced mystic Mr. William Burr was President of the General Assembly of Spiritualists, which at the time was the New York State Auxiliary of the National Spiritualist Association. William Burr was also the President of the Board of Trustees of Plymouth Spiritualist Church for a period of time (I will eventually be writing a piece on him).

Footnote 3: I also met Mr. Ebwood, an excellent type of spiritualistic clergyman. The “Mr. Ebwood” Doyle is referring to is Rev. William Joseph Erwood who was the pastor of Plymouth Spiritualist Church at the time of his visit. I actually contacted the publishers of this work, and they were unsure if the error was a typo or a spelling mistake on Doyle's part as they did not have access to the original manuscripts at this time. 

Footnote 4: He has a fine church seating 1,200 people This is, of course, the original Plymouth Spiritualist Church, which was unfortunately torn down in order to make room for a freeway.  Plymouth Spiritualist Church is still very much a functioning congregation and has been continually serving the Rochester community. The current location is 29 Vick Park A, Rochester NY 14607. 

Footnote 5: it seemed to me that if Hydesville is too remote, some small but effective monument might be erected here There is now a monument to Spiritualism right where Doyle suggested, which makes sense seeing as he was one of the primary donors to have the Spiritualist Obelisk built. If you’re in Rochester you can visit it at 49 Troup St, Rochester, NY 14608.

Rev. Wilhelmina K. Harrs

Rev. Wilhelmina Harrs (in some records her name is given as Harris) was born in Florence*, Germany. The 1930 Federal Census states that she was born in 1863, and immigrated to the United States in 1880 She married her husband Frederick at age 37.

Frederick and Wilhelmina were both active members of of Plymouth Spiritualist Church, then still chartered through the General Assembly, which functioned as the auxiliary for the National Spiritualist Association (now NSAC) for the State of New York.

 According to the CODI website, both husband and wife achieved their ordination and healing papers through the General Assembly in 1917. In 1923 they received a charter from the General Assembly of Spiritualists and started a new church called Divine Inspiration Spiritualist Church.

 In the early 1930s, the General Assembly withdrew from the NSA due to disagreements on various social and spiritual principles. Divine Inspiration chose to remain with the General Assembly, creating a new chapter of the history of Spiritualism in Rochester. The Church of Divine Inspiration is now the Headquarters for the General Assembly of Spiritualists today.

Rev. Harrs worked tirelessly in serving the community of Rochester, acting in virtually all capacities in her church as Pastor, Healer, and Medium. She was assisted by her husband Frederick who lead the Church music ministry as organist.

Rev. Harrs placed a high level of importance on her healing ministry, emphasizing in the Sunday newspapers that all who come to the Church will an illness will receive healing free of charge. Rev. Wilhelmina Harrs remained the lead Pastor of Divine Inspiration from May 1923 up to the date of her death on May 28, 1937.

*Footnote: I actually couldn’t find any records of a Florence, Germany. I actually believe it’s possible she may have actually been born in Dresden, which is popularly nicknamed “the German Florence”

Rev. Dr. William J. Erwood

Rev. William Joseph Erwood has probably been one of my favorite individuals I’ve researched so far for this project. The sources regarding Rev. Erwood are pretty diverse, and so they give a more full picture of this very interesting, compassionate, and spiritual man.

According to my research Rev. Erwood succeeded Rev. Herrick as Pastor of Plymouth Spiritualist Church here in Rochester, New York. 

An early photo of Rev. Erwood as a young man was actually included in Rev. Austin’s work What Converted Me to Spiritualism, along with a brief testimonial authored by Rev. Erwood himself.

Rev. Erwood was born in Wisconsin, and was raised Roman Catholic. He describes his spiritual upbringing as being rather closed minded to spiritualist phenomena that he would eventually embrace: 

“Born and reared in the Catholic faith, my early environments were not such as to encourage the investigation of psychic phenomena, and in fact all such phenomena were looked upon with great suspicion, and it’s origin was always questioned.”

He mentions that he showed mediumistic gifts at at early age, but they were quickly dismissed by family, as well as himself:

As a child I frequently saw different objects which others could not see and I described them, only to meet with reproof. I can distinctly remember many things of this character that occurred during the earlier years of my life, but all of these manifestations were looked upon as being either of satanic or divine origin, as the case might have been.

Everything that savored Spiritualism, was avoided most studiously, by myself and relatives until after our home had been removed from Chicago to Los Angeles, Cal. There, at the age of about twenty, I met for the first time, real Spiritualist workers.

Erwood goes on to relate the story of attending his first seance, where one of his own spirit guides spoke through a medium informing Erwood that in a year he himself would be working as a Trance Medium, and the guide would be his primary spirit guide:

My first experience in a spiritualistic séance is just as vivid as though it occurred but yesterday. It was not marked by any particularly strong manifestations, in fact I remember thinking, after listening to the broken language of the spirit controlling the medium, that never, as long as I lived would I be guilty of myself as that girl did. I had no sooner allowed this thought to enter my mind than the medium turned to me and in the vernacular of the controlling spirit, said, “Chief, I would like to try and put you out.” The friends explained that he meant he would like to try and control me.

This amused me very much, and I fear I expressed my amusement a little strongly, for it seemed to vex the control, and turning once more to me, he said, rather firmly, “Chief, inside of a year you will be a medium and I shall control you.” He evidently knew whereof he spoke, as his words were literally fulfilled within the appointed time.

This was the beginning of a series of events that soon culminated in a declaration of my belief in Spiritualism and its phenomena.

Something that truly stands out among the sources regarding Rev. Erwood is his firm belief that Spiritualism was a religion of healing and compassion.

In his short work Consolation: A Message of Comfort, Erwood wrote what would essentially today be considered a self help book for grief counseling. He included his own writings on Spiritualism, poems he had written, and selected poems from famous authors that he felt would be uplifting and healing, he also shared his own story of his young daughter passing away, and how Spiritualism helped him to heal from grief and eventually contact her Spirit, gaining assurance that she was at peace and happy.

His other works include, Essentials of Psychic Development, Foregleams of Immortality, The Genesis of Happiness, The Living Thought, Mediumship: Its Use and Abuse, and Spiritualism and the Catholic Church. Most of which are actually available for free online, or in reprinted form (check out amazon).

An article printed January 26 1924 from the Democrat and Chronicle mentions him stating: “William Erwood will preach on ‘The Psychology of Courage’ tomorrow morning at Plymouth Spiritualist Church.

Rev. Erwood was also listed as a Vegetarian, and member of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in a publication by the American Human Society in October 1911.

In the work Beyond Biofeedback published in the 1970’s by Dr. Elmer and Alyce Green, Dr. Green gives several anecdotes about Erwood, who he worked with as a student for his research into the scientific aspects of spiritual phenomena. In this book he gave Erwood the nickname “the Irish Yogi”

Regarding his spiritual gifts, Green wrote in Beyond Biofeedback: 

“There was no doubt in my mind that Will J. had unusual powers of physiological self-regulation. More significant to me, though, was his remarkable awareness of others. Over the eight years in which he and I became very well acquainted, I began to suspect that unusual powers of control over normally involuntary physiological processes, such as self-healing, were accompanied by an awareness of normally unconscious psychological processes-awareness not only of oneself but of others, too. Dr. Erwood could go down a row of people in an audience and describe family members and events going back several generations.”

Dr. Green also wrote about Erwood's eventual falling out from the Spiritualist Church. Apparently Erwood felt that the Spiritualist organizations of his time were too focused on producing spiritual phenomena rather than focusing on individual Spiritual development.

“Dr. Will J. Erwood, had been a minister in the Spiritualist Church. That connection was terminated, he told me, after a sharp disagreement in church councils about psychic phenomena. His position was that such phenomena should be given secondary significance, with emphasis put on spiritual development.”

In his later years Rev. Erwood founded his own Church based on the teachings of both Spiritualism and Divine Science, a New Thought movement that began in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer. 

Mr. Olaf Oberg

While I was at Plymouth Spiritualist Church looking through the cupboards for some papers I found a small, and very old, framed note that read “In loving memory of Mr. Olof Oberg who made it possible for us to have Plymouth Spiritualist Church” the name had sounded familiar (hard to forget a name like that) so I went to researching some of the records.

Olaf Oberg was a founding member of Plymouth Spiritualist Church. He was one of the first trustees, and I’ve also found his signature on the legal paperwork that was involved in the purchase of the original church building.

The 1910 Federal census states that in that year Mr. Oberg was 73 years old. He was married to a woman named Harriet, who was 67 at the time. His place of birth was in Sweden, and he immigrated to the united states in 1866 when he was 29 years old.

An early directory called Dan’s Blue Book: Rochester 1904 lists his place of residence at 543 Mt. Hope ave, which is also the same address listed in the 1910 census.

He and his wife Harriet are buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery.

While I was happy that I could find anything at all about this man, something seemed to be missing. I wanted to know more about that note and why he specifically was so important to Plymouth.

After more research, I finally found my answer in a Democrat and Chronicle article from October 19, 1909 which describes an account of a celebration that took place at the original Plymouth building, presided over by Rev. Austin, where all of the members celebrated the fact that their mortgage for the church had finally been paid off, and the congregation owned their own church.

The article goes on to state: “on account of his liberality in contributing to the expenses of the church, the trustees presented to the church an oil portrait of Olaf Oberg which will be hung in the church.”

It seems that Mr. Oberg cared so much for Plymouth and Spiritualism that he contributed enough of his time and money into the church to the point where the congregation wanted to entrust that everyone would remember his dedication.

We no longer have the oil portrait in our church, and we’re no longer in the same building, but it seems that the spirits wanted that modest little note to be kept safe all these years, from building to building for a reason.

So thank you Mr. Oberg, for making sure there would always be a home for Spiritualism in Rochester.

Willet Post

One of the very first things I began to work on when I initially started researching as historian for Plymouth Spiritualist Church was to verify a connection between the Post Family and the Plymouth Congregation.

There was an oral history that the congregation could trace itself back to the initial “Rochester Circle” that was composed of such members as Isaac and Amy Post, Leah Fox, and other prominent early Spiritualists but nothing was plainly documented that anyone knew about.

So I went through the archives that had been copied and put into a digital format, and read through pretty much all the early documents I had available to me.

The name Willet Post occurred several times in the early paperwork and based on the date, I assumed that he might have been a relative of Amy and Isaac. It turns out that Willet Post was actually the third son of Amy and Isaac Post.

The online River Campus Libraries collection titled “Isaac and Amy Post family papers” has provided pretty much all the biographical information I could find about Willet Post:

According to the River Campus collection, Willet E. Post was born on March 14, 1847 in Rochester New, York. The 1915 New York state census, however, states he was born in 1848.

The section that mentions Willet states that he “followed a career in his father's drug firm, became very interested in Spiritualism as a young man. He was an active worker in the earliest days of the Spiritualist Church of Rochester, serving it as a trustee, and also filling various offices in the lyceum. Except for four years of work on his own in the grocery business, Isaac and Amy's third son remained in the drug business until his retirement around 1912.”

Willet is listed as one of the original trustees in the formation of Plymouth as a congregation under Rev. Austin; he also signed the 1917 General Assembly charter under Rev. Herrick.

According to the 1915 state census at age 67 he was married to Josephine W. Post, his son was Ruden Post, married to Nellie Post, with three grandchildren: Douglas, Kirby, and Annie.

Rev. Tillie Reynolds

The church archives at Plymouth Spiritualist Church indicate that Rev. Matilda “Tillie” Reynolds was a Pastor of Plymouth, however the documentation is a bit murky, never giving a specific date or confirmation of her as Pastor.


I've managed to confirm through research that my original suspisions were correct, and that Rev. Tillie was an Associate Pastor of Plymouth, rather than the head pastor of the congregation. 

Regardless of her title, she made an impact on the Spiritualist community here in Rochester and deserves recognition.

A very brief introduction to Rev. Tillie Reynolds was mentioned in The Light of Truth (the same book that recorded information on Rev. Herrick): “Mrs. Reynolds is an inspirational lecturer and psychometrist. Her home is at 1637 sixth avenue, Troy N.Y. She is well known in the Eastern United States and seldom without engagement.”

For those that may be unfamiliar with the terms, “inspirational lecturer” implies a form of Mediumship, rather than just being eloquent, in more modern terms, Rev. Reynolds would channel her lectures as a Medium, being instructed from Spirit. Psychometry is the ability to give psychic readings through touch.

A Democrat and Chronicle article from May 16, 1931 that briefly honored the history of Spiritualism in Rochester and Plymouth Spiritualist Church mentions Rev. Reynolds “among well known workers” of the Church.

In the work History of Chautauqua County, New York and It's People, Rev Reynolds is mentioned as one of the "many spiritualists that have spoken from the Lily Dale rostrum." She is mentioned alongside other Pastors of Plymouth such as Austin, Wright, and Erwood.

The Spiritualist Manual of the General Assembly of Spiritualists states that Rev. Reynolds was one of the members of the board of directors of the Assembly, specifically as one of the signers confirming the name change of the New York State Association of Spiritualists, to the General Assembly of Spiritualists.

In the Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Convention of the NSA published in 1896, she is listed as a Spiritualist missionary to Texas.

Rev. Helen Russegue

Rev. Helen Lane Palmer Russegue has been one of the most interesting women I have researched so far. Her name kept appearing in tons of various documents, that I’d been going over, and as I slowly pieced together what I’ve found a more and more amazing character started to form.

Like many of Rochester’s Spiritualists I’ve learned most about her from her obituary, she passed into spirit in 1920. She was born in Syracuse in 1839.

Russegue was described as a gifted trance medium, stating that she had her first mediumistic experience Christmas Day in 1857 where she fell into trance, however she dismissed the phenomena as a seizure as she was not familiar with Spiritualist teachings and had been raised Presbyterian.

She was invited to attend a seance where she fell into trance and her guide explained to the sitters her purpose as a medium, when she regained consciousness her fellow sitters explained to her what had happened.

She remained very hesitant to accept the possibility that she was a medium, but slowly through her own research and development into Spiritualism fully embraced her spiritual calling.

Her obituary states: “Her trance lecturing took her into many states, but at the outbreak of the Civil War she went to the front, serving throughout as bearer of dispatches and as a nurse.”

In an entry in the Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography 1917, a further description of her nursing service is listed saying “A woman who for over four years gave her services to her country during the War of the Rebellion, who was at the battle of Bull Run and nurse and on special occasions as a bearer of dispatches.”

Russegue’s first Husband was a lawyer by the name of Joshua Palmer, recorded in the 1880 federal census. After his passing she eventually met Dr. Henry E. Russegue, a homeopathic doctor and Spiritualist Minister (I will eventually write a post for him)

Russegue’s gifts of mediumship were fairly diverse, described in her obituary as: “Inspirational Speaking, Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Independent writing on her arms; and Psychometry of unusual keenness”

Her fame as a medium brought her around the world, she visited South America and may have been the first American woman to travel the Suriname River. She also assisted archeologists in Egypt in locating pieces of art.

She lent her talents to many American geologists in locating mineral deposits and sources of other natural things. She assisted geologists in Maryland find sauces of mica, and also discovered that there were amethysts in the ground despite the scientists disbelieving that was possible at first. She located various salt deposits in Kansas through psychometry, and also located sources of oil and gas in California, as well as springs of water.

Eventually retiring from traveling Helen and Henry Russegue settled in Rochester, NY permanently so that they could be near Plymouth Spiritualist Church. Her obituary states: “Mrs. Russegue and her husband Dr. Russegue moved to Rochester to be near the Church they both loved, Plymouth Church”

In an article in the Sunflower from 1907 Russegue is mentioned as an active participant in the Rochester Spiritualist community during the Church’s first anniversary: “Mrs. Helen L. P. Russegue, of Hartford, Conn, accompanied by her amiable husband, Dr. Russegue, was there also and gave some masterful addresses. Some of them appear in the Sunflower later on. Prof. William Lockwood, the distinguished scientist, gave scholarly and impressive addresses,” in another article by the same publication she is listed as “Mrs. Helen P. Russegue, the inspired orator and noted psychometrist.”

To break for a moment, from her biography, I would like to happily say that in researching Mrs. Russegue, I’ve discovered I need to revise my timeline I’ve been constructing. It turns out, that after Rev. Austen retired, Mrs. Russegue assumed the mantle of head Pastor for Plymouth Spiritualist Church, becoming the second Pastor of Plymouth, and the first woman Pastor of Plymouth.

A Democrat and Chronicle Article from July 8, 1913 states: “Spiritualists in Quest of Pastor: Rev. B.F Austin will not return to city. Took a leave of absence and does not expect to return” this referring to Rev. Austin being called to minister in California. The article continues: “Mrs. Helen Russegue, who was associate Pastor of the Church while Dr. Austin was absent filled the pulpit for a year.”

An article from the Buffalo Times Sat, June 7, 1913 states: “Rev. Helen L. Russegue of Rochester, one of the most Prominent Spiritualists in the state.

As I mentioned above, after years of dedicated service to her community and country Rev. Helen Russegue passed away in the year 1928. However, this would not be the end of her influence on the Rochester Spiritualist Community.

A Democrat and Chronicle article from September 8, 1923 states: “Plymouth Spiritualist Church has been presented a valuable library by Dr. Henry E. Russegue of Pearl Street in memory of his late wife, Mrs. Helen Russegue, once minister of the Church. In addition to some 1,000 books, Dr. Russegue has given the Church four elaborate cases of woods and designs, which he made years ago. The Library includes many reference works. Dates of publications of the volumes range from the early Victorian period to the present century.”

While, unfortunately many of these works have most likely been lost as Plymouth has changed it’s location over the years, the church still does contain several of these antique books that are beloved and treasured, and the Church library continues to be one of the most unique aspects of Plymouth, containing quite possibly the largest private collection of spiritualist and spiritual books in the city.

Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Austin

Benjamin Fish Austin was born in Brighton, Ontario Canada. He was raised in a Methodist family and studied to be a Methodist minister. An exceptionally bright student he received his B.A in Theology, B.D (Bachelor of Divinity), and eventually D.D. (Doctor of Divinity). For a time he minister of one of the largest Methodist Churches in Canada, and eventually became principle of Alma College for Women in St. Thomas, Ontario. He married Francis Amanda Connell, and the couple had four children, one son and three daughters.

While in his role as both a Methodist minister and Principle he was well known for his strong opinions on social justice and welfare issues such as Feminism, Temperance, and Income Inequality.

Some of his early works as a Methodist minister include:

Sermons on Popular Sins, which collected several of his sermons calling out to individuals to end political corruption, denounced blind devotion to political parties at expense of morality, condemned the use of drugs and alcohol, and chastised uncharitable attitudes to the poor.

“Far too many forget in these times the unchanging obligations that bind them to God, and make it the supreme question of their conduct, 'What will help the party?' and not, 'What is right?' or, 'What will God expect of me?' -B.F. Austin, Sermons on Popular Sins

Several articles in different publications on Women’s Suffrage, which argued that women should be fully equal members of society, condemned forced marriages for economic or social reasons, and stressed the importance of education for women.

“Every young woman, no matter what her circumstances or prospects in life, should be the mistress of some special field of learning, or some useful art, by which she can, if God's providence so order, win her own way in life. No young woman should be placed in circumstances such as to make marriage an only refuge from poverty or dependence on her friends, or from a life of ennui. Having in her own hands the power of self-support, she should be free to accept or reject the marriage lot” -B.F. Austin, Open the Doors For the Women of Today

Gospel to the Poor vs Pew Rents, which condemned the practice of charging money to rent pews in Churches on Sundays essentially ostracizing those who could not afford to pay either to the back of the church, or from even attending.

“We are to be imitators of God. Hence the divine kindness to the poor, as revealed to us in Scriptures, is as much a law to the Church of Christ today as through promulgated amidst the thunders of Sinai, or written in letters of fire across the heavens. Should anyone ask, therefore, how should the Christian Church treat the Poor? The answer is ready: As God has taught us by example and precept.” -B. F. Austin, Gospel to the Poor

While a Methodist Austin became interested in studying spiritual phenomena as well as Spiritualist teachings. This interest became even stronger at the death of his youngest daughter, Kathleen. Austin, longing to see her again, began to attend seances and develop his own mediumship, eventually succeeding and contacting her spirit. Austin began to incorporate discussions and lectures on Spiritual phenomena and philosophy into his sermons. Eventually culminating in a sermon that caused him to be accused by the Methodist Church of heresy.

The record of his trial for the charges of heresy by the Methodist Church is still available to read, and he was cited on the points of denying the doctrine of eternal punishment, questioning the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth, denying that the teachings of Jesus were the last and final revelation to mankind, and promoting the practices and ideas of Spiritualism. He did not attend the trial but rather submitted a written defense for himself, which also still survives. He (no surprise), was not cleared of his charges and was expelled from the Methodist Church

Austin afterwards moved to the United States in 1903 where he became the principle of William Smith College for Women in Geneva, New York. Though the college was officially non-sectarian, the founder of the college Mr. William Smith was a Spiritualist and was impressed by Austin’s background in education, ministry, and Spiritualism.

Austin became active in the Spiritualist community of Rochester. Before Plymouth Church was an official congregation it was chartered as a lay Spiritualist Society through the National Spiritualist Association (now National Spiritualist Association of Churches). The society grew to the point where they wanted to become chartered as an official church, and elected Austin to be their Pastor. The society purchased a church that had formerly belonged to a liberal Baptist congregation that had been temporarily renting their building to a small Restorationist Christian movement known as the Megiddo Mission. The Rochester Spiritualist society purchased the building and founded The First Spiritual Church of Rochester, located on Plymouth Ave. The church quickly became known as Plymouth Spiritualist Church, and eventually changed its name.

While Pastor in Rochester Austin actively wrote essays, articles, books, and pamphlets on the teachings of Spiritualism. His most known pamphlet is probably The ABC’s of Spiritualism, which is a simple yet detailed overview of Spiritualist history, teachings, and practices in an easy to read question and answer format. He also wrote a book titled What Converted Me to Spiritualism, which contained one hundred testimonies of individuals that he had collected (one of whom would eventually become the fifth Pastor of Plymouth Church, William Joseph Erwood).

Austin was a pioneer in Spiritualist philosophy and education. While there were already several books available on Spiritualist thought, it was still a fairly new religious movement and had not yet fully developed its principles and doctrines.  While he continued to actively promote the popular Spiritualist positions of the day, such as the teachings of Andrew Jackson Davis , he also directed the teachings Spiritualism in a way very different from Davis.

Rather than the esoteric and extremely dense teachings of Davis, Austin presented a Spiritualism that was practical. He promoted self cultivation, affirmative prayer, positive thinking, and discussed Healing and Mediumship in a way that was simple to understand and easily accessible to everyone.

“Through right thinking and action, man can steadily rise in the scale of intelligence, power, wisdom, and efficency, expressing more fully his divinity to the world.” -B.F. Austin, The ABC of Spiritualism

Instead of borrowing from other religious movements, he claimed that Spiritualism could stand on its own as a unique and independent tradition. He eloquently debated and compared Spiritualism in his writings to other spiritual movements of the day such as New Thought groups, Christian Science, and Christianity explaining that Spiritualism contained the truths of all of these traditions without the sectarian trappings that came with them.

While living in Rochester, attending to the congregation of Plymouth, and writing his books, he also worked as founder and editor of a popular Spiritualist magazine called Reason. Reason was organized and published under a printing company that Austin had founded called The Austin Publishing Company, which was dedicated to publishing Spiritualist and Metaphysical books. He regularly traveled throughout the East Coast visiting various Spiritualist Churches, Camps, and Societies giving lectures and discussing Spiritualist teachings and principles.

In 1913 Austin and his family moved from Rochester to Los Angeles, California to take the position of pastor of the Central Spiritual Church of Los Angeles. He continued to write and publish his magazine as well as other pamphlets and articles, while regularly traveling throughout the state of California giving lectures up until his transition into Spirit in 1933.