Cora L.V. Richmond – The Most Amazing Medium You’ve Never Heard Of

Spiritualist Medium Cora L.V. Richmond

- I am going to tell you about “The one of the most famous women in the world during the late 1800s,” that you have probably never heard of! She was one of the best-known mediums of the Spiritualism movement during the last half of the 19th century. Perhaps one of the reasons she is virtually unknown today is that she had so many names throughout her career – due to numerous marriages. Her birth name was Cora L.V. Scott. She was also known at Cora Hatch, Daniels, Tappan, and lastly Cora L.V. Richmond. (L.V. = Lodencia Veronica)

Cora Scott was born in 1840 near Cuba, New York. At her birth she had a caul over her face. A caul is a membrane that covers a newborn’s head and face, which is thought in some folk religions to indicate special powers. Her parents, though initially Presbyterian, became interested in the Universalist religion, and in early 1851 joined the Hopedale Community, an intentional community in Massachusetts which was led by Adin Ballou, who was a Universalist, and a prominent proponent of pacifism, socialism and abolitionism.

Finding Hopedale too crowded, the Scott family moved to Waterloo, Wisconsin later that year to found a similar intentional community (with the blessings of Adin Ballou). It was there, in early 1851, that Cora’s first “visitation” took place when she was 11. When her first mediumistic experience came to her, young Cora Scott knew nothing of Spiritualism. She had never heard, except in rumor, of the Fox sisters and the “Rochester Knockings,” and had no idea of what they might mean. She presented no unusual appearance. She was not overly precocious for her age and was in no way different from any other country girl.

In the fall of 1851 Cora was seated in the family garden. She was preparing in her crude way, a composition upon her slate for school, intending to copy it afterwards. She fell ‘asleep,’ and on her return to consciousness found the slate was covered with writing which was not her own.

Supposing someone had been there and done the writing in sport or as a joke, she hastened to the house to show the slate to her mother and to tell her that someone had been there writing while she was asleep. The mother was slightly shocked when she told her this, but when the slate was presented covered with writing, it said, “My dear sister,” and was signed with the name of a deceased sister of the mother whom Cora had never seen nor scarcely heard of, as she had passed away in early childhood. Cora’s mother became frightened and quickly put the slate away.

A few days later Cora was seated at the feet of her mother sewing when again ‘sleep’ overcame her, and the mother thinking she had fainted or was ill, applied the usual restoratives; but meanwhile discovered a trembling motion of the right hand, and instantly remembered the slate. As soon as she placed slate and pencil in her hands, Cora began to write, this time before the very eyes of her mother. She rapidly wrote one message after another signed by different members of the family who had departed to spirit life, all of whom united in saying: ”We are not dead.” They also assured the anxious mother that they would not harm the child, for they had found through her a means of communicating with those on earth, and wished her to aid them in carrying out this work.

The influence continued at intervals, sometimes once in two or three days, until at last the house was thronged with curious friends and neighbors who came in to see “Cora write in her sleep.” There was no knowledge of Spiritualism in the neighborhood, no realization of what these manifestations might mean on the part of the people, yet persons of all creeds came and received messages from their own departed friends.

During the first three or four years of her work, Cora was controlled by a German physician. And at a given hour each day neighbors came to her house for healing. This work often occupied her two, three and sometimes six hours per day. She would occasionally go to the homes of the neighbors, while in a deep trance, who were too ill to come to her, and then treat them with astonishing results.

An important and difficult case was that of a carpenter by the name of Keyes, who had run a large splinter under the nail of the third finger of his right hand. It was very and the finger had become badly swollen. Mr. Keyes called a physician, who had lanced the finger, which did little good, and caused a rapid infection to take place. Mr. Keyes, in his great agony, asked his family to send for Cora. However, they were strict church members, and, believing her power to be Satanic, would not yield to his request.

The German spirit doctor, however, was on the alert. He, without any knowledge on the part of Cora’s family of the man’s suffering, proceeded to awaken Cora at midnight, made her go wake up her father, and say that she must go to the house of this gentleman, as he was suffering greatly and needed her. Her father then arose and went with her on this errand of mercy. Before they reached Mr. Keyes’ door, Mr. Scott could hear the groans of anguish from the afflicted man. Entering the house, the physician, seeing who had come, departed in anger. The wife fled to another room, leaving them alone with the sick man. Cora’s father obeyed the instructions given by the German spirit physician, brought bandages, warm water, and such as requested.

The physician, who had fled so hastily, had left his case of surgical instruments behind him. Directed by the German spirit surgeon, Cora walked to the case, selected a particular instrument, and proceeded to operate ‘John of God’ style while in trance. Mr. Keyes only suffered the loss of a portion of his finger as a result and lived many more years to attest the truth of this story. The German physician worked with Cora for about four years and performed many remarkable cures through her.

Miss Mary Folsom was Cora’s teacher at school. She was an early convert after witnessing the manifestations that came through young Cora; She was totally amazed when she witnessed Cora channeling the German doctor speaking in German, and performing such amazing feats of healing. However, Miss Folsom and Cora soon aroused the antagonism of the regular physicians, and clergymen of the neighborhood. The physicians were without patients, and the clergymen lacked audiences. So they resorted to a religious revival, which was speedily followed by a greater development of mediums. People would insist upon getting well, and staying well, while the sycophant clergy soon learned that their flocks were doing their own thinking. That village in Wisconsin soon became the center of a spiritual circle that had greater power than all the professionals taken together. Churches were abandoned, and the physicians sought other fields of labor, where the light of higher Spiritual Knowledge had not yet penetrated.

In order that the guides might not be hindered in their work, they directed that Cora should cease to attend school, which she did at age eleven. From then on she had not studied any book, listened to any master, pursued any course of study, except those given by her spirit guides while she was in the trance state. From the very first it was understood that Cora’s mission was to be that of a platform speaker, and the years devoted to the art of healing were experiences to fit her for the larger work.

Cora’s father died in 1853 (when she was 13), and in 1854 the family moved to Buffalo, New York. There she became well-known among the most important Spiritualists in the country. By the age of 15, she was making public appearances in which she spoke with “supernatural eloquence” on almost any topic put forward by the audience, all while in a trance. Audiences found the spectacle incredible: a very young and pretty girl speaking with authority on esoteric subjects; it was enough to convince many people that she was indeed a channel for spirits.

Her first husband, whom she married at age 16, was a professional mesmerist, Benjamin Franklin Hatch. Over 30 years her senior, Hatch was a skilled showman who managed Cora in order to maximize revenue, much to the dismay of serious spiritualists. The marriage ended bitterly due to abuse on his part, but as a result of his promotional tactics Cora soon became a part of the network of trance lecturers that characterized the early Spiritualist movement.

The words coming through her were not simple utterances of a frivolous nature, but profound lectures on philosophical and metaphysical matters, as well as reform issues, including the abolition of slavery. Committees made up of medical men, professors, doctors of divinity and statesmen were chosen to select a “ topic which they deemed most difficult for any speaker to discuss, with which to confound the young girl,” The subject was not given to her until she was on the platform.

CAPTAIN ISAIAH RYNDER STORY: On one occasion, in New ,York city, an incident worthy of note at this point took place. Isaiah Rynders, or “Capt’n” as he was called by his followers, was a leader of the ”Bowery Boy” Democracy, who was always seeking an opportunity for fun or a fight. He was passing down Broadway one evening with about fifty of his comrades, when he espied a bulletin in front of the Broadway Tabernacle announcing the lecture that was to be given that evening, by the “young girl apostle of Spiritualism in a trance state.”

“Let’s go in here, boys,” cried the leader of the gang, “and break up this nonsense.” In they rushed, to find the place filled to overflowing with the brightest minds of New York. A little awed at first, they would, perhaps, have proceeded to have their own fun, had not some gentleman performed a master-stroke. The audience was just choosing the committee to select the subject for the evening lecture. There was a brilliant array of editors, lawyers, doctors and scientists to choose from, and all the five except one had been chosen. A brilliant stroke was then performed in nominating and electing Captain Isaiah Rynders as the fifth member of the committee. He was compelled to leave his comrades to assist in the selection of the subject for the evening’s talk. And then to take his place upon the platform with the other members of the committee, and to listen to the address.

At the close of the lecture, which was a profound one on a deep subject, the chairman of the committee expressed the satisfaction and amazement with which they had listened to the lecture; in fact, it was a complete triumph. Mr. Rynders arose and begged to be allowed to say a few words, although his voice was tremulous with emotion. He confessed to having come into the hall for the purpose of ”breaking up the whole business;” said he had never seen nor heard anything like the lecture they had listened to ; hoped the audience and the speaker would forgive him, and said he meant to be a better man. He did not know what power had spoken to them through the lips of the young woman, but it had conquered and subdued him. The applause that followed was tumultuous. The tears were streaming down the face of the man of the world—for the time, at least, he was moved one degree nearer the divine.

At Lynn, Massachusetts, in December, 1857, a committee composed of scholarly men anticipated that they would confound Cora’s guides by asking, “Will you please define the Pythagorean proposition?” Speaking through Cora, the guides asked, “Which proposition do you mean – the Moral Code or the so-called Scientific Proposition?” When no answer came from the committee, the guides took up the Moral Code. Following that discourse, a committee member, apparently a scientist, asked, “What is the diameter of a bucket filled to the brim with water?’ The response came through Cora, “The diameter of a bucket of water is probably as great as the diameter of a cranial structure, destitute the grey material denominated ‘brain’ by so-called scientists.”

Remember, this is what a person with just a simple grade school education and no advanced preparation came up with as her response!

By the end of 1858, Cora, just 18 then, had given over 600 lectures on a wide variety of subjects. Wrote Dr. A. B. Childs, one of the observers, “This lady can address an audience of five thousand people with great ease, and the guides through her give an elaborate discourse upon any subject the audience may choose; There cannot well be a greater test of Spirit power than this.”

Scientists, scholars, ministers, and journalists were befuddled by Cora Scott. Some of the spirit communication came through in foreign languages, and occasionally an ancient language, but Ouina, one of Cora’s key spirit guides, who often acted as an intermediary between the advanced spirits and the medium, was able to interpret all of them. At one lecture, Cora relayed a message in an Indian sign language to a member of the audience. The man rose from his seat, said that the sign language given through her was perfect, and though he had been a skeptic he was now a convert.

In 1859, at the urging of Mrs. Lincoln, President Lincoln and several congressmen were said to have attended Cora’s lectures in Washington, D.C. The abolition of slavery was one of the key themes in her lectures during those early years. It is said that they were very much impressed with her. She was still just a teenager of 19.

In 1874, when she was 34, Cora toured the United Kingdom. It was reported that there were standing-room only crowds and that many were turned away. The Telegraph, a London daily, reported: “For upwards of an hour the lady poured forth an uninterrupted flow of language, without hesitating for a single instance, sentences of the most involved character.”

BRIEF EXCERPTS FROM CORA’S DISCOURSES:

The Soul: “The Soul in its pure and primal nature has nothing to do with time, nor space, nor matter, but only with eternity and that which belongs to eternity. No external thing can reveal God. The Soul alone, being of the nature of God, perceives God.”

Reincarnation: “The human mind takes alarm at once at these teachings, and declares a loss of identity if one embodiment is followed by another, and one spirit after another has expression. There is no reincarnation; there is another expression, and another, until all that is possible is expressed here and in spirit life. Another embodiment is not a loss of identity, but an added expression of identity. As each form only expresses a portion of the spirit that pervades it, so each spirit (of a Soul) only expresses a portion of the Soul.”

Genius: “We would name Mozart as a genius, because, untaught, in childhood he knew the principles of harmony. He did not know because he had never had experience, but he knew because he had experience in previous lives; … that life was the culmination. This enabled Mozart to know music at three years of age, not because his Soul, or spirit was any more tuneful than any other, but because he had taken the preceding steps in preceding lives to that culmination.”

Meeting Friends in the Afterlife: “People say: ‘I would not like to go into the spirit life and not find my friends.’ If they are your friends, you will find them; if they are not you would not wish to. All real ties are found to last in spiritual existence, and form a portion of the Soul’s possessions. The larger sphere includes the smaller one.”

In 1875 Cora became the head of the largest Spiritualist Church in the world, in Chicago – The Church of the Soul. Her leadership lasted for 50 years until her passing in 1923. In 1915, she had an OBE which lasted for a week. She then wrote a book about it called: My Experiences While Out Of My Body And My Return After Many Days. Published in 1923.

Today we have forgotten the importance of Cora Richmond’s life contribution and the immense role that this great lady seer imparted so unselfishly for our future benefit. She was the pioneer of pioneers of Higher Spiritualism, and formed it’s first Association, the National Spiritualist Association of Churches – NSAC. Her work showed the way towards mental freedom and she gave women the incentive to become more than they had ever been before.

Cora’s name has been obliterated from history as is common for those that bring the truth before it’s time. Cora was the most respected medium in the 19th Century and, until her passing, was the most prolific. Her sermons numbered well over 5,000. That’s seventy full years of trance discourses. Her guides, while using Cora as an instrument, taught the new sciences from which many inventions were born. Her well known work on the SOUL, can, today, be understood as spiritual quantum physics.

According to her biographer, Harrison Barrett, Cora L. V. Richmond was one of the most famous women in the world during the late 1800s. But today, we ask, “Cora Who?”