Admiral W. Usborne Moore: More about communication from the Dead (part 2 of 3)

This is a continuation of the deposition of Vice-Admiral William Usborne Moore (bottom right photo), as explained and recorded in my blog of December 16.

Admiral Moore, before the break, you testified about much of your research in England and started to tell us about your research in America.  I understand you made three trips to the United States, beginning in late 1904 and continuing until 1912.  Let’s continue with that.

“[Yes.] I had seen every phenomenon worth seeing in England.  I had read every book worth reading on the subject of spiritism, and a good deal of trash, including The Confessions of a Medium, which bears internal evidence of being written by an anti-spiritualist, and which, though pure fiction, has been put forward as a true narrative. I knew that, owing to our unfortunate climate, it was useless to pursue my inquiries further in [England] and I resolved to return to America to complete my study in December 1908.  This time I determined to go inland, where I was wholly unknown, and I spent two and a half months in Rochester, New York, Toledo, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois.  The evidence I obtained in these cities convinced me that I had been in direct communication with Iola, and with many relatives and friends through her influence, by the mediumship of professional and non-professional psychics.”

As I recall, Iola (top left photo) was a deceased relative of yours, but you gave her a pseudonym for family privacy purposes.  What phenomena did you observe?

“[Correct], but she adopted the name herself to avoid the unpleasant complications that may arise as to her identity among those of her friends and relatives who are not educated in spiritism….The phenomena consisted of automatic mirror-writing, materialization, direct writings, pictures precipitated by invisible intelligences, and the direct voice. The correlation of the evidence through different psychics who did not know one another, and in some cases had not even heard of one another, was striking, and – to me – conclusive of the genuineness of each.  I left the United States with an impression, not likely to be easily removed, that there was only one alternative to the spiritistic hypothesis – that of the continual presence of personating demons, able to read every thought of mortals, and to construct at will dramatic situations that answered every doubt and uncertainty in the mind of an investigator.  This is the Roman Catholic doctrine.  I reject it, not only because of its intrinsic improbability, but on account of the consideration of many incidents of a strictly private nature that cannot be here related.”

You reported on some very interesting phenomena with Joseph B. Jonson of Toledo, Ohio in 1909. Please tell us about that.

Moore testified that Jonson (upper right photo) was a powerful-looking man of 55, well educated, and of sober habits. The amount of light during his seances was always sufficient to see him outside the cabinet and that every precaution was taken to avoid confederates or any kind of fraud. Voices came via the direct voice, sometimes through a trumpet and other times without the amplification of a trumpet. Before his investigation of Jonson, Moore conferred with his friend, Homer Taylor Yaryan, who had served as chief of the secret service police under the presidency of Ulysses S Grant.  Yaryan had observed Jonson for years, even in Yaryan’s own house, and was certain that the phenomena were genuine. Jonson’s primary control was an Indian named Grayfeather, whose voice was not the same as Jonson’s. Moore further testified about his observations on January 6, 1909: 

“Including some repetitions, fifteen or sixteen materialized forms emerged from the cabinet and conversed with their friends while Jonson was out of it; six or eight came after Grayfeather had taken him inside – all of these in addition to the familiar spirits, the habitués of the cabinet.  One of the visitors was a nun, who had a very spiritual countenance and wore a bright silver cross about four inches long. She came especially for Mr. Z., but, at the request of the latter lady, she walked well into the light in order that I should be able to see her plainly. The effort was too much for her, and she doubled up, instead of gradually descending into the floor, which is the usual method of disappearance. Each member of the circle was visited by at least two friends who were recognized. Two or three men came to me whom I was not able to identify properly, one making semaphore signs with his arms.” (Grayfeather explained to Moore that they were attempting to materialize without his permission and thus were turned out.)

Your records show another sitting with Jonson on January 16. Please tell us about that one.

“In some respects this séance was better than that of January 6, for more forms appeared, but I did not like it so much, as the light allowed by the spirits in the cabinet was much less, no doubt on account of the [atmospheric conditions].  About twenty-five separate personalities manifested, counting the repetitions, there were over forty materialisations or etherialisations. For my part, I only saw the faces of two clearly enough for recognition.  These were Viola and Edna, the nun. Viola is a very lively girl of eighteen or nineteen, with long streaming hair; she touched my hand with hers. Edna came out four or five times, and gave me opportunities to see her face, dress, and cross quite plainly; Iola brought my father and mother. On one occasion, I went to the entrance of the cabinet, and saw two forms together, which I soon discovered were my parents, and the small form of Iola behind them.”

Very interesting, Admiral Moore.  Please tell us about your private sitting of January 29.

“It was an interesting experiment and I was much surprised that it was so successful.  Jonson passed into the trance state in about ten minutes. In less than five minutes later Iola rose slowly out of the floor in front of me, outside the cabinet, and passed in between the curtains, thus keeping her promise of January 25. I went into the opening with Mrs. Jonson, who invariably accompanies a sitter—to lend additional power to the manifestations – and asked the spirit, ‘Did you make that inscription on the picture?’ A whisper came, ‘With the help of others.’ [Iola] then sank into the floor.”

Will you explain what you are referring to as the picture and the inscription?

Moore explained that between sittings with Jonson, he had visited the Bangs sisters of Chicago (lower left photo), known for their precipitated paintings of spirits. When a picture of Iola was precipitated, Moore said he gave up all doubts about her identity, as this was definitely the relative she claimed to be.  There was no inscription on the painting when he saw it in Chicago, but it was there when he unpackaged it in Toledo. 

Thank you for explaining that, Admiral Moore.  Please continue by telling us more about that January 29 experiment.

“My father and mother materialized. In these there was no possibility of error.  My father had a nose like the Iron Duke, and I saw him in good light three feet outside the cabinet; his prominent feature was clearly distinguishable.  Three men came out whom I did not know, one said to be Mr. Marshall Fields, a wealthy merchant of Chicago, but as I never knew him nor heard of him before this evening, I cannot answer for his identity”

Moore went on to testify that Detective Yaryan had explained to him that they do not always recognize their friends every time by their features.  At times, they see the face distinctly and at other times it is very vague, much depended on the conditions of the sitting, which varied considerably, often dictated by atmospheric conditions.  Sometimes there was no phenomenon at all. Yaryan also pointed out that the Jonsons did not always know who would attend a sitting and therefore could not have pre-arranged for the spirits of their deceased relatives and friends to “materialize” for them.  In addition, the Jonson would have required dozens of confederates of all sizes and shapes, including children, to be hiding in some part of their home, ready to sneak into their upstairs room and impersonate a deceased friend or loved one, all the while offering veridical information. 

You reported an interesting séance on February 1, 1909,  Please tell us about that one.

“Nineteen separate spirits manifested. Some of them reappeared twice or three times, one four times.  I estimated that over forty forms actually appeared during the séance. Including the repetitions, ten were for me.  Iola came first.  I saw her profile plainly; the right eye was closed. She talked a little in whispers, saying she was ‘going with me.’ It was a good representation, the face a good likeness, and the height and dimensions of the figure was correct. She stopped at the entrance of the cabinet rather too long and dematerialized in an unnatural manner.  During this séance, I saw several spirits dematerialize. Some descended into the floor slowly and, so to speak, naturally.  It was possible to follow their heads with the eye until the shoulders were level with the carpet.  Others doubled up before they dissipated, and a few fell over on one side…..My father and mother came together, the former wearing spectacles.  Behind them, I could detect a third form, of the right height and size of Iola, but, as she was in the shadow of the cabinet, I was not able {to see her features}….One old relative appeared to me, whom I recognized.  I kissed her, as I would when she was in the earth life, and she returned it; but the effect was too much for her, and she fell over on the side and vanished.” 

I have heard that Jonson was accused of fraud. What do you say to that?

“It is hardly necessary for me to say that the Jonsons have been accused of fraud, like all other professional psychics, good, bad, and indifferent.  I have never heard of an instance where a definite charge has been brought against them and been proved.  All I know of are the usual slanders by other competing mediums, by well-intentioned friends of the sitters, and writing private and public, by authors of the arm-chair type.  As Jonson sits outside the cabinet for a part of every séance, and his wife scarcely ever goes near him, the only question that can be raised by the most rabid skeptic is that of several confederates at each séance.  I consider that this may be ignored, for the following reasons:  They could not enter from below or from outside the house without observation, nor could they come by the staircase without passing the members of the circle; in cases when the sitters were over nine in number, they would have to go through the circle…[Moreover,] the expense and the difficulty of finding the histrionic capacity in the neighborhood forbid such an explanation of the supernormal phenomena that take place at these séances.”

Thank you, Admiral.  Any final thought before we recess again.
 
“I do not deny that communication with the spirit world is full of perplexities.  Answers to questions put to spirits are often contradictory and apparently misleading.  Generally, this is owing to the difficulty experienced in describing to beings who are functioning in three dimensions what is taking place in a region inhabited by those who are functioning in four or more.  But the essential points are gained quickly by the earnest investigator; he soon learns that he is destined to live again; that immortality is a fact; that he can commune without much difficulty with those whom the world calls dead….The difficulty of our spirit visitors in communicating at all must be enormous.  We ply them with questions, the majority of which they are not able to answer because they have not yet reached the higher spheres; they make the attempt by stating what they have heard from others, and are, doubtless, often incorrect…[Further,] the higher spirits are hampered by the personality of the medium.  To us, it is highly important that the medium should be an ignorant person, unable to form any theories for herself, so that we shall receive the undiluted message.  But here is another side to the question.  When the psychic is densely ignorant it appears to be impossible, at times, for the spirit to get through any lofty ideas.  I have watched this often.”

The deposition of Admiral Moore will continue on January 13.

Michael Tymn is the author of The Afterlife Revealed: What Happens After We Die, Resurrecting Leonora Piper: How Science Discovered the Afterlife, and Dead Men Talking: Afterlife Communication from World War I.
His latest book, No One Really Dies: 25 Reasons to Believe in an Afterlife is published by White Crow books.