1 00:00:02,380 --> 00:00:05,700 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday and happy October. We are kicking off the 2 00:00:05,780 --> 00:00:09,300 Speaker 1: month with our episode on spiritualist Charles Colchester, who was 3 00:00:09,369 --> 00:00:12,930 Speaker 1: connected to Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln and to John 4 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:17,750 Speaker 1: Wilkes Booth, and who faced various allegations of fraud over 5 00:00:17,850 --> 00:00:20,910 Speaker 1: the course of his career. This episode originally came out 6 00:00:21,030 --> 00:00:27,970 Speaker 1: on September 20th, 2021. Enjoy! Welcome to Stuff You Missed 7 00:00:28,010 --> 00:00:38,260 Speaker 1: in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome 8 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,860 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Holly Frey. And I'm Tracy B. Wilson. 9 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,910 Speaker 1: It's not quite Halloween time yet, but like the rabies 10 00:00:45,970 --> 00:00:49,589 Speaker 1: are here. Yeah. Yeah. I have it worse this year 11 00:00:49,630 --> 00:00:53,150 Speaker 1: than any previous year, I think. But this isn't quite 12 00:00:53,190 --> 00:00:58,210 Speaker 1: a Halloween episode. But periodically, particularly while I'm researching topics 13 00:00:58,250 --> 00:01:02,950 Speaker 1: for Halloween, which I was kind of making my preliminary list, 14 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:07,059 Speaker 1: they often veer into discussion of fake mediums. Like, I'll 15 00:01:07,100 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: just run into mentions of that or notes I've made 16 00:01:09,260 --> 00:01:11,700 Speaker 1: about it. And a lot of the time, I come 17 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:16,950 Speaker 1: across this mention... of the alleged psychic who warned President 18 00:01:17,060 --> 00:01:21,140 Speaker 1: Abraham Lincoln that he was going to be assassinated. If 19 00:01:21,180 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: you do any sort of mediums during the 19th century 20 00:01:25,180 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: in America research, you'll bump up against that mention. And 21 00:01:29,910 --> 00:01:32,149 Speaker 1: I keep scribbling notes to myself to look it up. 22 00:01:32,250 --> 00:01:34,750 Speaker 1: So I finally did. And I will say this story 23 00:01:34,790 --> 00:01:37,309 Speaker 1: took me to some places that I did not anticipate. 24 00:01:38,810 --> 00:01:42,770 Speaker 1: Not in any sort of like, scary, creepy Halloweeny way, 25 00:01:42,850 --> 00:01:48,530 Speaker 1: but just like there's some fascinating legal stuff that goes on. 26 00:01:48,730 --> 00:01:51,970 Speaker 1: As well as just a person who manages to be 27 00:01:52,650 --> 00:01:55,750 Speaker 1: kind of elusive in terms of hard details about their life. 28 00:01:56,060 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: So today we are talking about Charles Colchester. That may 29 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,140 Speaker 1: or may not have even been his name, but he 30 00:02:03,180 --> 00:02:06,220 Speaker 1: became an icon for spiritualism in the U.S. in the 31 00:02:06,420 --> 00:02:09,869 Speaker 1: 19th century and only to ultimately be rejected by that 32 00:02:09,950 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: same movement. Yeah, so as Holly just alluded to, Colchester's 33 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: early life is entirely a mystery. There is a mention 34 00:02:17,740 --> 00:02:20,799 Speaker 1: of him in the Detroit Free Press after most of 35 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,260 Speaker 1: the events that we're talking about today had already happened. 36 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,540 Speaker 1: It is a column titled News Brevities, and that states that, quote, 37 00:02:28,620 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 1: the real name of Colchester is Sealby or Sealbic. He 38 00:02:32,700 --> 00:02:36,020 Speaker 1: is an English imposter, and the spiritualists declare that that 39 00:02:36,100 --> 00:02:41,139 Speaker 1: he is a fraudulent trickster and not one of their number. So, 40 00:02:41,220 --> 00:02:45,500 Speaker 1: spoiler alert, Colchester gained a significant following as a spiritualist 41 00:02:46,139 --> 00:02:49,980 Speaker 1: with some very high-profile patrons, but he was so problematic 42 00:02:50,020 --> 00:02:53,260 Speaker 1: that the whole spiritualist movement then tried to distance itself 43 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,090 Speaker 1: from him. Yeah, there was a lot of, not one 44 00:02:56,100 --> 00:02:58,130 Speaker 1: of us, not one of us, we don't know this person. 45 00:02:58,150 --> 00:03:03,390 Speaker 1: I don't know her in the spiritualist meme of the 46 00:03:03,410 --> 00:03:07,130 Speaker 1: 19th century. What we know, and we got to use 47 00:03:07,190 --> 00:03:10,470 Speaker 1: air quotes there about Charles Colchester, is only what he 48 00:03:10,550 --> 00:03:14,150 Speaker 1: told us rather than anything that he could substantially prove. 49 00:03:14,590 --> 00:03:17,410 Speaker 1: He was English. He claimed that he was a Duke's 50 00:03:17,470 --> 00:03:20,540 Speaker 1: son that was born out of wedlock. And he claimed 51 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: that he could read sealed letters and also that he 52 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: could summon apparitions. He also said that he could produce 53 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:31,419 Speaker 1: words on his body carved in blood by spirits and 54 00:03:31,950 --> 00:03:35,670 Speaker 1: and he manifested all of these things in front of audiences. 55 00:03:36,630 --> 00:03:39,510 Speaker 1: Although it was not part of this personal story that 56 00:03:39,570 --> 00:03:43,130 Speaker 1: he wove, Colchester also drank a lot, and he did 57 00:03:43,390 --> 00:03:48,170 Speaker 1: use his alleged connection with the beyond to validate his drinking. 58 00:03:48,390 --> 00:03:53,060 Speaker 1: He claimed that the spirits had authorized it, which is 59 00:03:53,630 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: kind of funny to me. Yeah, apparently when people would 60 00:03:57,580 --> 00:03:59,260 Speaker 1: ask him, do you want to go get a drink? 61 00:03:59,300 --> 00:04:01,020 Speaker 1: He would be like, let me commune with the spirits. 62 00:04:01,620 --> 00:04:03,100 Speaker 1: And then he would be like, yes, they say we 63 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:08,380 Speaker 1: should absolutely go have a drink. So after performing seances 64 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:11,030 Speaker 1: for clients in New York and Boston for a few years, 65 00:04:11,050 --> 00:04:14,630 Speaker 1: that was really the start of his traceable movement. Colchester 66 00:04:14,690 --> 00:04:18,510 Speaker 1: appeared in Washington, D.C. during the Civil War, and he 67 00:04:18,630 --> 00:04:22,010 Speaker 1: drew just an impressive audience of the city's elite, including 68 00:04:22,050 --> 00:04:25,010 Speaker 1: people like General Grant and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. 69 00:04:25,670 --> 00:04:29,279 Speaker 1: We have talked about Mary Todd Lincoln's fascination with spiritualism 70 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,159 Speaker 1: and the afterlife before on the show. She came up 71 00:04:32,540 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 1: when we covered spirit photographer William Mumler during our Halloween 72 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:39,039 Speaker 1: live show a couple of years back. She was his 73 00:04:39,190 --> 00:04:42,469 Speaker 1: most famous client, Mumler's most famous client, hoping that he 74 00:04:42,510 --> 00:04:46,170 Speaker 1: could capture her departed husband's ghost on film, and he, 75 00:04:46,190 --> 00:04:49,390 Speaker 1: of course, obliged. That was, I mean, there were many 76 00:04:49,470 --> 00:04:52,500 Speaker 1: spiritualists in her life, but we really haven't talked about 77 00:04:52,950 --> 00:04:56,890 Speaker 1: how she became so very drawn to spiritualism. And the 78 00:04:56,930 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: sad catalyst there was the death of the Lincolns' son, Willie, 79 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,390 Speaker 1: who died from typhoid fever at the age of 11 80 00:05:03,390 --> 00:05:08,700 Speaker 1: in 1862. The Lincolns each mourned in their own way. 81 00:05:09,420 --> 00:05:12,740 Speaker 1: The president spent time alone, was very withdrawn, and grew 82 00:05:12,900 --> 00:05:16,040 Speaker 1: frustrated with the ways that people tried to console him 83 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,820 Speaker 1: by talking about Willie being in heaven. He eventually turned 84 00:05:19,860 --> 00:05:23,940 Speaker 1: his energies to the needs of the country in turmoil. Mary, 85 00:05:24,020 --> 00:05:27,050 Speaker 1: on the other hand, was swept up in the growing 86 00:05:27,130 --> 00:05:30,210 Speaker 1: spiritualism movement, and it offered her the hope that she 87 00:05:30,270 --> 00:05:34,250 Speaker 1: might somehow see or connect to her beloved son once 88 00:05:34,330 --> 00:05:38,500 Speaker 1: more in just some form. She was hardly alone in this. 89 00:05:38,580 --> 00:05:41,740 Speaker 1: The massive death toll of the Civil War had created 90 00:05:41,779 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: a whole nation of people who were grieving for lost 91 00:05:44,460 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: loved ones. And it was through Mary's many connections and 92 00:05:48,220 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: invitations to mediums and spiritualists that Charles Colchester... came into 93 00:05:53,250 --> 00:05:56,230 Speaker 1: the lives of the Lincolns. And once he did so, 94 00:05:56,350 --> 00:05:59,330 Speaker 1: he took full advantage of that proximity to power to 95 00:05:59,410 --> 00:06:03,570 Speaker 1: bolster his name. As Mary became ever more devoted to 96 00:06:03,610 --> 00:06:07,990 Speaker 1: Colchester seances, the president had felt compelled to accompany her 97 00:06:08,089 --> 00:06:12,950 Speaker 1: to visit this compelling spiritualist, not because President Lincoln believed, 98 00:06:13,410 --> 00:06:15,650 Speaker 1: but because he wanted to see what exactly was taking 99 00:06:15,710 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: place at these gatherings. Lincoln's relationship with spiritualism has been 100 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: written and remarked about many times. A lot of people 101 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: have theories and they try to connect him to, you know, 102 00:06:26,339 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 1: mesmerism or spiritualism and claim that he had this mysticism. 103 00:06:29,820 --> 00:06:32,920 Speaker 1: But he seemed above all, if you really look at it, 104 00:06:32,990 --> 00:06:36,330 Speaker 1: to want to protect his wife. He never dissuaded her 105 00:06:36,430 --> 00:06:41,349 Speaker 1: from this interest because seeing spiritualists and going to seances 106 00:06:41,410 --> 00:06:44,779 Speaker 1: seemed to offer her some peace. But the president also 107 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:47,779 Speaker 1: did not want the first lady to be anyone's victim. 108 00:06:48,500 --> 00:06:51,969 Speaker 1: So when he saw Colchester's seance, he was mesmerized, but 109 00:06:52,050 --> 00:06:54,950 Speaker 1: not in the sense of just being taken in by it. 110 00:06:55,029 --> 00:06:59,170 Speaker 1: It was totally the opposite. Abraham Lincoln wanted to figure 111 00:06:59,270 --> 00:07:04,220 Speaker 1: out exactly how Colchester's tricks worked. The president got the 112 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,720 Speaker 1: Smithsonian Institution's secretary at the time, Joseph Henry, involved in 113 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:13,030 Speaker 1: the investigation. He requested that Colchester submit to an examination 114 00:07:13,110 --> 00:07:16,450 Speaker 1: by Henry, which he agreed to. This is, yes, the 115 00:07:16,490 --> 00:07:22,490 Speaker 1: same Joseph Henry who introduced Eunice Newton Foote's papers in 116 00:07:22,550 --> 00:07:28,150 Speaker 1: that episode. Yeah, there's also an interesting story between Henry 117 00:07:28,330 --> 00:07:31,590 Speaker 1: and Lincoln in that they were very much on opposite 118 00:07:31,630 --> 00:07:34,690 Speaker 1: ends of the political spectrum, but also respected each other 119 00:07:34,730 --> 00:07:39,380 Speaker 1: a lot. And Henry's background was in science, and he 120 00:07:39,420 --> 00:07:44,179 Speaker 1: worked a lot in telegraphs specifically. And so for this demonstration, 121 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: Henry had Colchester visit the Smithsonian so that this examination 122 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,180 Speaker 1: could be conducted in a room that the medium had 123 00:07:51,260 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: not had prior access to. And after the encounter, Henry 124 00:07:55,540 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: came away entirely convinced that Colchester was a charlatan. But 125 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:05,100 Speaker 1: he couldn't prove it. He had very clearly discerned that 126 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,620 Speaker 1: there was an otherworldly clicking sound. These were supposed to 127 00:08:08,660 --> 00:08:11,620 Speaker 1: be evidence of spirits being called by the man, but 128 00:08:11,860 --> 00:08:13,940 Speaker 1: that it was clear to him they were emanating from 129 00:08:14,020 --> 00:08:18,660 Speaker 1: Colchester's person and presumably some sort of device. But Colchester 130 00:08:18,740 --> 00:08:22,060 Speaker 1: would not consent to having his clothes removed for examination. 131 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:27,420 Speaker 1: And that was that. Incidentally, though, Joseph Henry supposedly did 132 00:08:27,650 --> 00:08:32,560 Speaker 1: uncover the origins of these sounds totally by accident much later. 133 00:08:33,340 --> 00:08:35,300 Speaker 1: He's said to have met a man on a train 134 00:08:35,340 --> 00:08:38,980 Speaker 1: and started just idly talking to him. In this marvelous 135 00:08:39,020 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: bit of happenstance, this man had engineered a telegraphic device 136 00:08:43,580 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 1: that spiritualists used for exactly this purpose. They wore it 137 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,270 Speaker 1: around their biceps, and so the user would flex a muscle, 138 00:08:51,410 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 1: and that would produce this clicking sound. Henry asked this 139 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:57,980 Speaker 1: young man if he had sold such a device to 140 00:08:58,059 --> 00:09:02,790 Speaker 1: Charles Colchester, and the guy said yes. He reported this 141 00:09:02,850 --> 00:09:06,290 Speaker 1: information back to the president, who was apparently pleased to 142 00:09:06,350 --> 00:09:08,230 Speaker 1: know about it, but he did not put a stop 143 00:09:08,290 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: to the First Lady's meetings with Colchester. Something much darker 144 00:09:13,980 --> 00:09:18,650 Speaker 1: ultimately took place to sever that relationship. Yeah, Abraham Lincoln, 145 00:09:18,670 --> 00:09:22,330 Speaker 1: I think, just liked being in on the secret. But ultimately, 146 00:09:22,490 --> 00:09:25,860 Speaker 1: what happened was that Colchester blackmailed Mary Todd Lincoln, or 147 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: at least he tried to. He wanted the War Department 148 00:09:29,420 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 1: to issue him a free railroad pass so he could 149 00:09:32,020 --> 00:09:35,559 Speaker 1: travel to New York easily. This might sound like a 150 00:09:35,620 --> 00:09:38,660 Speaker 1: fairly benign request, but at the time, the war had 151 00:09:38,700 --> 00:09:41,880 Speaker 1: led to a move on General Sherman's part to severely 152 00:09:41,980 --> 00:09:45,470 Speaker 1: limit and regulate civilian travel by rail and so that 153 00:09:45,490 --> 00:09:48,130 Speaker 1: that mode of transport could be dedicated to the movement 154 00:09:48,170 --> 00:09:51,980 Speaker 1: of troops and material. Even people with ticketed travel could 155 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:54,520 Speaker 1: board only if it did not interfere with the needs 156 00:09:54,540 --> 00:09:58,670 Speaker 1: of the Union Army. Initially, in this whole system, train 157 00:09:58,690 --> 00:10:01,670 Speaker 1: passes were fairly readily available. People at all levels of 158 00:10:01,710 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: the military would just write them, even if those people 159 00:10:04,750 --> 00:10:08,530 Speaker 1: were not really authorized to do so. But this, of course, 160 00:10:09,100 --> 00:10:12,980 Speaker 1: became a problem, and regulations got tighter and tighter to 161 00:10:13,020 --> 00:10:16,270 Speaker 1: try to curtail needless travel. So by the time this 162 00:10:16,350 --> 00:10:19,250 Speaker 1: all happened, in asking for a pass issued by the 163 00:10:19,270 --> 00:10:23,010 Speaker 1: War Department, Colchester was attempting to sidestep a whole lot 164 00:10:23,050 --> 00:10:26,540 Speaker 1: of regulations. And he almost got what he wanted because 165 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 1: he told the First Lady that he would publicly share 166 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: some of the privileged and presumably embarrassing information that he 167 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 1: had learned while working with her. So that was how 168 00:10:37,300 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: Noah Brooks was called upon to help. The First Lady 169 00:10:41,340 --> 00:10:44,680 Speaker 1: turned to Brooks for help over this blackmail attempt, and 170 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:47,449 Speaker 1: Brooks was a close friend of the Lincolns and also 171 00:10:47,510 --> 00:10:52,050 Speaker 1: a journalist. He had dealings with Colchester before because of 172 00:10:52,110 --> 00:10:55,870 Speaker 1: his concerning influence over the First Lady. He wrote about 173 00:10:55,910 --> 00:10:59,570 Speaker 1: this in his book, Washington in Lincoln's Time. And the 174 00:10:59,610 --> 00:11:03,929 Speaker 1: person that he's describing in this was named Elizabeth Keckley. So, quote, 175 00:11:04,540 --> 00:11:08,280 Speaker 1: A seamstress employed in the White House had induced Mrs. 176 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,819 Speaker 1: Lincoln to listen to the artful tales of a so-called 177 00:11:11,940 --> 00:11:16,239 Speaker 1: spiritual medium who masqueraded under the name of Colchester and 178 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:20,589 Speaker 1: who pretended to be the illegitimate son of an English duke. 179 00:11:21,170 --> 00:11:24,590 Speaker 1: The poor lady at that time was well-nigh distraught with 180 00:11:24,650 --> 00:11:28,080 Speaker 1: grief at the death of her son, Willie. By playing 181 00:11:28,170 --> 00:11:32,439 Speaker 1: on her motherly sorrows, Colchester actually succeeded in inducing Mrs. 182 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,300 Speaker 1: Lincoln to receive him in the family residence at the 183 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,320 Speaker 1: soldier's home, where, in a darkened room, he pretended to 184 00:11:39,380 --> 00:11:42,679 Speaker 1: produce messages from the dead boy by means of scratches 185 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:46,920 Speaker 1: on the wainscoting and taps in the walls and furniture. Mrs. 186 00:11:47,020 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: Lincoln told me of these so-called manifestations and asked me 187 00:11:51,070 --> 00:11:53,990 Speaker 1: to be present in the White House when Colchester would 188 00:11:54,050 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: give an exhibition of his powers. Yeah, we're going to 189 00:11:57,540 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 1: quote a lot from Noah Brooks because his is one 190 00:11:59,500 --> 00:12:02,939 Speaker 1: of the few accounts by a contemporary that actually had 191 00:12:02,980 --> 00:12:07,330 Speaker 1: direct dealings with Colchester and was close enough to the 192 00:12:07,370 --> 00:12:10,910 Speaker 1: Lingans to really understand kind of how this was playing out. 193 00:12:11,410 --> 00:12:13,429 Speaker 1: And initially he told the First Lady that he did 194 00:12:13,470 --> 00:12:15,429 Speaker 1: not want to go to this seance at the White House. 195 00:12:15,910 --> 00:12:18,510 Speaker 1: He doesn't say as much in his book, but it 196 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:21,080 Speaker 1: kind of seems like he didn't want to embarrass her 197 00:12:22,140 --> 00:12:25,400 Speaker 1: because he did want to see what Colchester was all about. 198 00:12:26,130 --> 00:12:29,459 Speaker 1: And he got his chance shortly thereafter to attend a 199 00:12:29,580 --> 00:12:33,620 Speaker 1: paid sitting that one of Colchester's other wealthy followers was hosting. 200 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:36,920 Speaker 1: So Brooks paid $ 1 to go and see the medium 201 00:12:37,020 --> 00:12:41,160 Speaker 1: for himself. We'll talk about what happened when Noah Brooks 202 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,900 Speaker 1: met Charles Colchester after we pause for a quick sponsor break. 203 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 1: Music In his biography of Lincoln, Brooks detailed his encounter 204 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,740 Speaker 1: with Colchester at the seance that he attended and paid for, writing, 205 00:13:02,660 --> 00:13:05,190 Speaker 1: after the company had been seated around the table in 206 00:13:05,210 --> 00:13:07,990 Speaker 1: the usual approved manner and the lights were turned out, 207 00:13:08,370 --> 00:13:10,910 Speaker 1: the silence was broken by the thumping of a drum, 208 00:13:11,309 --> 00:13:13,990 Speaker 1: the twanging of a banjo, and the ringing of bells, 209 00:13:14,710 --> 00:13:17,010 Speaker 1: all of which instruments had been laid on the table 210 00:13:17,100 --> 00:13:20,890 Speaker 1: ready for use. Brooks, who was obviously not the least 211 00:13:20,910 --> 00:13:23,670 Speaker 1: bit taken in by Colchester's theatricalities, decided to find the 212 00:13:23,690 --> 00:13:25,250 Speaker 1: real source of the noises. He went on to say, quote, 213 00:13:40,670 --> 00:13:44,189 Speaker 1: Loosening my hands from my neighbors who were unbelievers, I 214 00:13:44,290 --> 00:13:47,490 Speaker 1: rose and, grasping in the direction of the drumbeat, grabbed 215 00:13:47,530 --> 00:13:50,890 Speaker 1: a very solid and fleshy hand in which was a 216 00:13:50,950 --> 00:13:55,020 Speaker 1: handbell that was being thumped on a drumhead. I shouted, 217 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: strike a light. My friend, after what appeared to be 218 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 1: an unconscionable length of time, lighted a match, but meanwhile, 219 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,360 Speaker 1: somebody had dealt me a severe blow with the drum, 220 00:14:05,990 --> 00:14:09,030 Speaker 1: the edge of which cut a slight wound in my forehead. 221 00:14:09,770 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 1: When the gas was finally lighted, the singular spectacle was 222 00:14:13,429 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 1: presented of the son of the Duke firmly grasped by 223 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: a man who was covered with blood, while the arrested 224 00:14:19,980 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: scion of nobility was glowering at the drum and bells 225 00:14:24,060 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: which he still held in his hands. Colchester ran from 226 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,859 Speaker 1: the room and he refused to return. The host of 227 00:14:32,900 --> 00:14:35,670 Speaker 1: the whole event, said that he was outraged at having 228 00:14:35,710 --> 00:14:38,510 Speaker 1: been so insulted. It was only a couple of days 229 00:14:38,730 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 1: after that that Colchester made his blackmail attempt on the 230 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:46,300 Speaker 1: First Lady. What unpleasant things that Colchester was planning to reveal, 231 00:14:46,700 --> 00:14:49,990 Speaker 1: we don't really know. Presumably, he wanted to get out 232 00:14:50,010 --> 00:14:52,790 Speaker 1: of Washington, D.C. in a hurry and to avoid any 233 00:14:52,870 --> 00:14:57,070 Speaker 1: additional entanglements. But when Mary Todd Lincoln brought the matter 234 00:14:57,110 --> 00:15:00,390 Speaker 1: to Noah Brooks, he decided to confront Charles Colchester and 235 00:15:00,470 --> 00:15:03,290 Speaker 1: expose him as a fraud to put an end to 236 00:15:03,330 --> 00:15:05,670 Speaker 1: the blackmail and hopefully also get him out of the 237 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: White House for good. And so to accomplish this, Brooks 238 00:15:09,940 --> 00:15:12,900 Speaker 1: concocted a plan that required Mrs. Lincoln to invite the 239 00:15:12,940 --> 00:15:16,100 Speaker 1: medium to the White House once more. The idea here 240 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:18,900 Speaker 1: is that Colchester would presume that she had his railroad 241 00:15:18,940 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: pass and wanted him to come and get it. And 242 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:23,940 Speaker 1: this plan kind of seems like it all hinged on 243 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,830 Speaker 1: Colchester not having gotten a good look at Brooks during 244 00:15:26,870 --> 00:15:29,989 Speaker 1: the seance. As you recall, they had been seated in 245 00:15:30,030 --> 00:15:32,290 Speaker 1: the dark and even once the gas lamp was lighted, 246 00:15:32,350 --> 00:15:35,810 Speaker 1: Brooks's face had been covered in blood. But it is 247 00:15:35,870 --> 00:15:38,930 Speaker 1: also possible that the hope was that Colchester would just 248 00:15:38,970 --> 00:15:43,230 Speaker 1: be too embarrassed when confronted to run into Brooks in 249 00:15:43,290 --> 00:15:45,880 Speaker 1: front of the First Lady to say like, oh yes, 250 00:15:45,930 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: you caught me faking at my seance the other night. 251 00:15:49,820 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: So when the spiritualist arrived, Mrs. Lincoln introduced Colchester to 252 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:58,020 Speaker 1: her friend, Noah Brooks, and then left the room as 253 00:15:58,060 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: though she was going to get the pass. Once she 254 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,420 Speaker 1: had gone, Brooks lifted up the hair that had been 255 00:16:03,570 --> 00:16:06,550 Speaker 1: swept over his forehead, and that revealed the cut from 256 00:16:06,590 --> 00:16:10,150 Speaker 1: the drum strike that had happened at the seance. He asked, 257 00:16:10,330 --> 00:16:14,590 Speaker 1: do you recognize this? Colchester once again muttered about being 258 00:16:14,670 --> 00:16:18,290 Speaker 1: insulted before Brooks told him, quote, you know that I know. 259 00:16:18,550 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 1: You are a swindler and a humbug. Get out of 260 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: the city at once. If you are in Washington tomorrow 261 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,060 Speaker 1: afternoon at this time, you will be in the old 262 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:31,500 Speaker 1: Capitol prison. Interestingly, John Wilkes Booth was drawn to Charles 263 00:16:31,540 --> 00:16:34,650 Speaker 1: Colchester for the very same reason that had brought Mary 264 00:16:34,690 --> 00:16:38,590 Speaker 1: Todd Lincoln into the spiritualist's orbit, and that was personal loss. 265 00:16:39,420 --> 00:16:43,690 Speaker 1: When Booth's sister-in-law Molly died, the actor started attending seances 266 00:16:44,090 --> 00:16:47,230 Speaker 1: hosted by various mediums in an effort to make contact 267 00:16:47,290 --> 00:16:51,270 Speaker 1: with her. And that eventually led him to Colchester. But 268 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,700 Speaker 1: then Colchester and Booth became close friends outside of any 269 00:16:54,900 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: mystical setting. According to witnesses, they spent a lot of 270 00:16:58,660 --> 00:17:02,610 Speaker 1: time together. They were described as both friends and associates 271 00:17:02,660 --> 00:17:05,940 Speaker 1: by people who witnessed them. particularly as the two of 272 00:17:05,980 --> 00:17:08,740 Speaker 1: them came and went at the National Hotel, which is 273 00:17:08,810 --> 00:17:11,030 Speaker 1: where Booth stayed in the weeks leading up to the 274 00:17:11,090 --> 00:17:16,770 Speaker 1: assassination of President Lincoln. Historian Terry Alford, in his Booth biography, 275 00:17:16,890 --> 00:17:20,810 Speaker 1: Fortune's Fool, suggests that Booth's attachment to Colchester may have 276 00:17:20,830 --> 00:17:23,070 Speaker 1: been rooted in the medium's claim to be able to 277 00:17:23,130 --> 00:17:25,750 Speaker 1: see the future. He may have been hoping for some 278 00:17:25,810 --> 00:17:29,750 Speaker 1: sort of sign or reassurance regarding his intentions toward the president. 279 00:17:30,470 --> 00:17:34,840 Speaker 1: We have no idea. if Booth clearly disclosed those intentions 280 00:17:34,900 --> 00:17:39,379 Speaker 1: to Colchester. But Charles J. Colchester felt compelled to warn 281 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:43,780 Speaker 1: Abraham Lincoln that something bad was going to happen. Lincoln 282 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,179 Speaker 1: is actually said to have mentioned Colchester's warning to an associate, 283 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:51,250 Speaker 1: but that is the only information we have regarding any 284 00:17:51,390 --> 00:17:54,760 Speaker 1: actual communication between the two of them. And this was 285 00:17:54,820 --> 00:17:58,350 Speaker 1: actually one of many warnings that various alleged psychics offered 286 00:17:58,380 --> 00:18:01,410 Speaker 1: to the president in the time when spiritualism was popular 287 00:18:01,450 --> 00:18:04,850 Speaker 1: throughout the U.S. and within the White House, thanks to 288 00:18:04,890 --> 00:18:08,669 Speaker 1: the First Lady. After the president was shot and died 289 00:18:08,730 --> 00:18:13,240 Speaker 1: from his wounds in April of 1865, Colchester's association with 290 00:18:13,300 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: Booth was something that was just at the forefront of investigators' minds. Yeah, 291 00:18:18,020 --> 00:18:21,909 Speaker 1: they were looking for any accomplices, anyone involved involved. in 292 00:18:21,950 --> 00:18:25,030 Speaker 1: what had happened, and Colonel Henry H. Wells was a 293 00:18:25,070 --> 00:18:28,950 Speaker 1: lawyer before joining the Union Army, and he was investigating 294 00:18:29,010 --> 00:18:31,690 Speaker 1: and attempted to meet with Charles Colchester as part of 295 00:18:31,710 --> 00:18:35,370 Speaker 1: that investigation. He had tracked him from the National, where 296 00:18:35,410 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: he had been staying, to the Washington Hotel, to which 297 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:41,720 Speaker 1: he had moved, but he wasn't there either. If the 298 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:43,960 Speaker 1: medium had stayed in the city, he had done a 299 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,980 Speaker 1: really good job of hiding. He was never located for 300 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:51,810 Speaker 1: questioning in the official investigation. It's a little unclear exactly 301 00:18:51,990 --> 00:18:54,890 Speaker 1: when Colchester may have issued his warning to the president 302 00:18:54,990 --> 00:18:56,830 Speaker 1: in relation to when he had his run in with 303 00:18:56,890 --> 00:19:00,230 Speaker 1: Noah Brooks. So whether he did leave town right after 304 00:19:00,270 --> 00:19:03,450 Speaker 1: being exposed as a fraud or if he stuck around 305 00:19:03,490 --> 00:19:06,460 Speaker 1: and then ran right after the assassination is a little 306 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:10,980 Speaker 1: bit unclear. Even though Colchester left Washington, he certainly did 307 00:19:11,020 --> 00:19:13,270 Speaker 1: not banish off the face of the earth. He was 308 00:19:13,310 --> 00:19:16,510 Speaker 1: moving around and performing his seances and readings and then 309 00:19:16,609 --> 00:19:18,950 Speaker 1: popped up in the papers again in the second half 310 00:19:18,990 --> 00:19:22,590 Speaker 1: of 1865. We'll get to that after we hear from 311 00:19:22,630 --> 00:19:25,600 Speaker 1: the sponsors that keep Stuff You Missed in History Class going. 312 00:19:25,619 --> 00:19:32,820 Speaker 1: Colchester was arrested in New York in August 1865 for 313 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: what may seem on the surface to be an odd charge. 314 00:19:43,340 --> 00:19:46,530 Speaker 1: According to a newspaper account, quote, Charles J. Colchester, a 315 00:19:46,590 --> 00:19:49,129 Speaker 1: leading medium and only second to the famous Hume in 316 00:19:49,170 --> 00:19:52,730 Speaker 1: notoriety as a spiritualist, has been arrested on complaint of 317 00:19:52,780 --> 00:19:55,740 Speaker 1: the collector of internal revenue for the 28th District of 318 00:19:55,800 --> 00:20:01,300 Speaker 1: New York on a charge of practicing jugglery without a license. Okay, 319 00:20:01,340 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 1: if that made you giggle a little, and it did 320 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:05,360 Speaker 1: me when I read it, jugglery in this case does 321 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:08,149 Speaker 1: not mean literal juggling, although that is certainly a way 322 00:20:08,170 --> 00:20:11,350 Speaker 1: that word can be used. It is referring to trickery 323 00:20:11,470 --> 00:20:16,010 Speaker 1: or manipulation, and in Colchester's case, sleight of hand specifically. 324 00:20:16,730 --> 00:20:19,800 Speaker 1: So Colchester was taken in for tax evasion because he 325 00:20:19,859 --> 00:20:24,050 Speaker 1: refused to register his profession as a juggler. Colchester had 326 00:20:24,070 --> 00:20:26,790 Speaker 1: been practicing in the Rochester area in the spring of 327 00:20:26,790 --> 00:20:31,510 Speaker 1: 1865 when the Assessor of Internal Revenue, William H. Rogers, 328 00:20:31,609 --> 00:20:34,590 Speaker 1: instructed him to take out a license as a juggler. 329 00:20:35,510 --> 00:20:38,890 Speaker 1: Colchester refused, although he offered to take out a license 330 00:20:38,910 --> 00:20:42,480 Speaker 1: as a spiritual medium. There was no license for that, 331 00:20:42,660 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 1: and Rogers told him that based on the information he had, 332 00:20:46,020 --> 00:20:50,510 Speaker 1: Colchester was indeed a juggler. Colchester was arrested, and a 333 00:20:50,530 --> 00:20:53,949 Speaker 1: complaint was filed with the U.S. Commissioner. The medium appeared 334 00:20:53,990 --> 00:20:56,450 Speaker 1: before a grand jury and was indicted, and the case 335 00:20:56,510 --> 00:20:59,310 Speaker 1: was sent to trial. His defense was that he was 336 00:20:59,410 --> 00:21:02,430 Speaker 1: not in any way a magician or juggler, but a 337 00:21:02,490 --> 00:21:05,830 Speaker 1: legitimate spiritualist, and so he should not have to register 338 00:21:06,210 --> 00:21:09,770 Speaker 1: as something he was not. This really kind of turned 339 00:21:09,810 --> 00:21:13,770 Speaker 1: the trial into an instance where spiritualism itself was being debated. 340 00:21:14,970 --> 00:21:17,409 Speaker 1: As the same write-up put it, quote, as a result 341 00:21:17,450 --> 00:21:20,219 Speaker 1: of the trial... will be a legal decision as to 342 00:21:20,270 --> 00:21:24,670 Speaker 1: whether the phenomena of spiritualism are supernatural or mere feats 343 00:21:24,730 --> 00:21:27,689 Speaker 1: of juggler, it will be a very interesting one and 344 00:21:27,790 --> 00:21:32,359 Speaker 1: strongly contested. The prosecutors planned on calling a range of 345 00:21:32,410 --> 00:21:36,440 Speaker 1: presidigitators to confirm that Colchester was indeed a sleight of 346 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:40,060 Speaker 1: hand man, and the defense planned to bring in spiritualists 347 00:21:40,100 --> 00:21:45,450 Speaker 1: to testify to Colchester's legitimate abilities. Colchester's claim was mainly 348 00:21:45,490 --> 00:21:47,609 Speaker 1: that he was closer to being a member of the 349 00:21:47,670 --> 00:21:53,379 Speaker 1: clergy than a trickster. When the case began on August 19, 1865, 350 00:21:53,380 --> 00:21:56,119 Speaker 1: the district attorney opened by laying out the question of 351 00:21:56,180 --> 00:21:59,680 Speaker 1: whether Colchester should or shouldn't be registered as a juggler 352 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: and made it clear that in his mind, spiritualism itself 353 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,179 Speaker 1: was not on trial. He also managed to get in 354 00:22:07,220 --> 00:22:09,469 Speaker 1: a dig at the press for suggesting that this was 355 00:22:09,510 --> 00:22:12,840 Speaker 1: the case. He said, quote, The performance of singular and 356 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:18,090 Speaker 1: extraordinary feats of wrappings, answering questions enclosed in envelopes and 357 00:22:18,130 --> 00:22:21,690 Speaker 1: the like publicly and for fee and reward, will not 358 00:22:21,730 --> 00:22:26,409 Speaker 1: be seriously contested, perhaps admitted, The peculiar defense of the 359 00:22:26,450 --> 00:22:29,869 Speaker 1: prisoner I can only gather from newspaper reports and public 360 00:22:29,950 --> 00:22:33,290 Speaker 1: rumor which assert that the prisoner will prove or attempt 361 00:22:33,390 --> 00:22:36,149 Speaker 1: to prove that in the performance of those feats of 362 00:22:36,210 --> 00:22:41,460 Speaker 1: apparent legerdemain he is the mere instrument of spiritual control 363 00:22:42,100 --> 00:22:45,140 Speaker 1: and that he does not practice sleight of hand. While 364 00:22:45,260 --> 00:22:48,780 Speaker 1: I concede the inestimable value of the press, I cannot 365 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,949 Speaker 1: forbear the remark that that it has been made the 366 00:22:52,109 --> 00:22:55,619 Speaker 1: instrument of magnifying the case into undue proportions and to 367 00:22:55,650 --> 00:22:58,280 Speaker 1: cause the public to believe that it is a contest 368 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,400 Speaker 1: between the United States and a large body of citizens 369 00:23:01,460 --> 00:23:04,280 Speaker 1: calling themselves spiritualists and an endeavor on the part of 370 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:08,100 Speaker 1: the former to crush out a religious sect and to 371 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,300 Speaker 1: expose its heresies if it has any, and that the 372 00:23:11,340 --> 00:23:14,760 Speaker 1: result of this trial will establish the fact whether spiritualism 373 00:23:14,820 --> 00:23:17,919 Speaker 1: is true or false. Nothing can be further from the truth. 374 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 1: The result of this trial can accomplish no such thing. 375 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:26,379 Speaker 1: It is a simple inquiry whether Charles J. Colchester is 376 00:23:26,500 --> 00:23:29,970 Speaker 1: practicing sleight of hand under the guise of spiritual control, 377 00:23:30,450 --> 00:23:32,929 Speaker 1: and if he is, it is quite as important to 378 00:23:32,970 --> 00:23:36,090 Speaker 1: profess spiritualist that he should be exposed as it is 379 00:23:36,130 --> 00:23:38,879 Speaker 1: to the public whom he is deluding and to the 380 00:23:38,950 --> 00:23:42,740 Speaker 1: government which he is defrauding. Over the course of the trial, 381 00:23:43,060 --> 00:23:47,260 Speaker 1: many of Colchester's high-profile clients, a lot of them politicians, 382 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: testified that they believed entirely in his abilities as a medium. 383 00:23:52,740 --> 00:23:56,740 Speaker 1: But the damning testimony came from people who knew magic, 384 00:23:56,940 --> 00:24:00,100 Speaker 1: including from a man named James Rogers, a magician's assistant 385 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:04,020 Speaker 1: who had worked with Colchester briefly. He told the court 386 00:24:04,060 --> 00:24:07,020 Speaker 1: that he had seen Colchester using his foot to create 387 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:10,609 Speaker 1: a rapping sound by striking the legs of tables. But 388 00:24:10,619 --> 00:24:13,810 Speaker 1: he also said that Colchester himself had told him it was, 389 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:18,210 Speaker 1: in the parlance of the day, humbug. According to Rogers' account, 390 00:24:18,290 --> 00:24:21,790 Speaker 1: Colchester was holding eight to ten seances a day, making 391 00:24:21,950 --> 00:24:25,070 Speaker 1: one or two dollars for each one, and restricting attendance 392 00:24:25,130 --> 00:24:28,490 Speaker 1: to only one or two people per sitting, presumably so 393 00:24:28,540 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 1: they would be unable to detect his farce. Another witness, 394 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:35,879 Speaker 1: James Connolly, testified that he had, as a client, witnessed 395 00:24:35,980 --> 00:24:40,240 Speaker 1: Colchester switching out envelopes that contained questions for him and 396 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:44,780 Speaker 1: were supposed to remain sealed. and surreptitiously opening the original 397 00:24:44,820 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: question so he could answer and appear psychic. Another witness, 398 00:24:48,900 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 1: which is a physician named Walter M. Fleming, saw Colchester 399 00:24:52,380 --> 00:24:55,939 Speaker 1: on several occasions, witnessing, among other things, the blood writing 400 00:24:55,980 --> 00:24:59,820 Speaker 1: upon his arm. The witness at one point presented Colchester 401 00:24:59,859 --> 00:25:02,899 Speaker 1: with questions sealed up in cans to see if he 402 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,530 Speaker 1: could answer them, but Colchester, on consecutive days of trying, 403 00:25:07,150 --> 00:25:11,030 Speaker 1: told Fleming that spiritual conditions were not favorable for answering them. 404 00:25:11,710 --> 00:25:14,970 Speaker 1: The case proceeded on in this way, with character witnesses 405 00:25:15,030 --> 00:25:19,170 Speaker 1: for Colchester and detractors describing his trickery for what it was. 406 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:23,419 Speaker 1: On August 23rd, the jury, after hearing the case, returned 407 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,820 Speaker 1: their verdict. They found that Charles Colchester was a juggler. 408 00:25:28,990 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 1: And this verdict actually kicked off a lot of fear 409 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,000 Speaker 1: in the spiritualism community, even though the district attorney had 410 00:25:35,060 --> 00:25:37,600 Speaker 1: said that was not the intent at all. But a 411 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,480 Speaker 1: lot of practitioners worried that they too would be tried 412 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:44,120 Speaker 1: by the government over taxes and discredited in the process. 413 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,359 Speaker 1: There were queries as well as to whether Colchester had 414 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,919 Speaker 1: been given a fair trial or if the whole thing 415 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,530 Speaker 1: had been framed in bias from the beginning, despite those 416 00:25:53,590 --> 00:25:56,110 Speaker 1: remarks to the contrary at the opening of the arguments. 417 00:25:56,940 --> 00:26:00,920 Speaker 1: To be clear, spiritualists were not aggrieved at Colchester being 418 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,659 Speaker 1: called a fraud. They were just worried that the manner 419 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,840 Speaker 1: in which his trial was conducted could similarly find any 420 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,220 Speaker 1: of them frauds, whether that had any basis or not. 421 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,919 Speaker 1: Their own examination of the matter came to the conclusion, however, 422 00:26:15,270 --> 00:26:19,670 Speaker 1: that he was undeniably and truly a juggler. After all 423 00:26:19,750 --> 00:26:23,470 Speaker 1: of that, the sentence was just a financial one. Colchester 424 00:26:23,510 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 1: had to pay a $ 40 fine. and the court costs 425 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:31,859 Speaker 1: of $ 473. Those sums were paid by his supporters, and 426 00:26:31,900 --> 00:26:35,290 Speaker 1: that matter was then concluded. If the trial results dinged 427 00:26:35,330 --> 00:26:38,710 Speaker 1: Colchester's confidence at all, it was not for long. Soon 428 00:26:38,790 --> 00:26:42,430 Speaker 1: he was on tour touting his skills and looking for clients. 429 00:26:43,109 --> 00:26:45,770 Speaker 1: In an ad that appeared in the Cleveland Daily Leader 430 00:26:45,890 --> 00:26:50,810 Speaker 1: in December of 1865, it said,' Colchester, the wonderful Colchester,' 431 00:26:50,710 --> 00:26:55,560 Speaker 1: the incomprehensible Colchester, the medium.' can be consulted at his 432 00:26:55,660 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 1: room's American house for a few days only. But even 433 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,419 Speaker 1: though he kept working, from the moment the trial ended, 434 00:27:02,580 --> 00:27:06,190 Speaker 1: there were then people constantly looking for proof that Colchester 435 00:27:06,230 --> 00:27:09,230 Speaker 1: was a fraud. And stories kept popping up in the 436 00:27:09,270 --> 00:27:13,230 Speaker 1: papers about it. One particularly charming one from the Boston 437 00:27:13,310 --> 00:27:18,510 Speaker 1: Evening Transcript on October 10, 1865, reads, quote, A correspondent 438 00:27:18,590 --> 00:27:22,070 Speaker 1: of the Hartford Times says that Colchester, the juggling medium, 439 00:27:22,410 --> 00:27:25,590 Speaker 1: was detected by him at a circle in Hartford in 440 00:27:25,609 --> 00:27:28,149 Speaker 1: a feat of jugglery, where a number sitting in the 441 00:27:28,190 --> 00:27:31,639 Speaker 1: dark with joined hands were touched by spirit hands on 442 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:35,740 Speaker 1: their faces. When one seized the hand with his teeth 443 00:27:36,380 --> 00:27:39,180 Speaker 1: and discovered that it was a tallow candle, which Colchester 444 00:27:39,220 --> 00:27:42,550 Speaker 1: had blown out when the circle was arranged. He was 445 00:27:42,890 --> 00:27:45,730 Speaker 1: once again in hot water with the U.S. Commissioner in 446 00:27:45,930 --> 00:27:49,590 Speaker 1: April of 1866, this time in Louisville, Kentucky, for the 447 00:27:49,630 --> 00:27:53,490 Speaker 1: same charge, this time just pertaining to the performance of 448 00:27:53,609 --> 00:27:57,859 Speaker 1: jugglery without a license in the state of Kentucky. This time, 449 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:03,680 Speaker 1: Colchester did not really argue the matter. There was, once again, testimony, 450 00:28:03,780 --> 00:28:06,619 Speaker 1: which according to an article in the Buffalo Commercial on 451 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:10,869 Speaker 1: April 6th, quote, A confederate of Colchester admitted on the 452 00:28:10,950 --> 00:28:15,449 Speaker 1: examination that the manifestations were produced by mechanical agencies, and 453 00:28:15,670 --> 00:28:19,190 Speaker 1: this was not denied by the former. In that case, 454 00:28:19,250 --> 00:28:22,090 Speaker 1: Colchester was allowed by the commissioner to file his license 455 00:28:22,150 --> 00:28:26,570 Speaker 1: as a juggler. In late May 1866, a story ran 456 00:28:26,630 --> 00:28:30,990 Speaker 1: in papers across the country titled Spiritualism Done For, and 457 00:28:31,020 --> 00:28:35,900 Speaker 1: it had the subheader, Colchester Thoroughly Exposed, His Spirit Manifestations 458 00:28:35,980 --> 00:28:40,670 Speaker 1: Shown to be Tricks, deceptions and the vilest impositions. And 459 00:28:40,710 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 1: this article was an open letter written by a man 460 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:47,500 Speaker 1: named D.A. McCord, who had briefly been Colchester's agent. While 461 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:51,820 Speaker 1: Colchester had been widely exposed already, this particular missive was penned, 462 00:28:51,940 --> 00:28:55,820 Speaker 1: according to McCord, quote, from a sense of justice, seeming 463 00:28:55,860 --> 00:28:58,209 Speaker 1: in some ways to need to unburden himself for his 464 00:28:58,270 --> 00:29:00,840 Speaker 1: part in any of it. He writes, quote, I was 465 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,180 Speaker 1: his agent for a few weeks and was compelled to 466 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:08,350 Speaker 1: leave him, detecting his deceptions with his drunkenness, disorderly conduct, 467 00:29:08,490 --> 00:29:13,490 Speaker 1: and other vices. The confessional states that McCord witnessed Colchester 468 00:29:13,690 --> 00:29:16,300 Speaker 1: using his foot against a table leg to produce a 469 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:20,540 Speaker 1: rapping sound and read billets through trickery. But the one 470 00:29:20,620 --> 00:29:24,160 Speaker 1: component of Colchester's act which had continued to befuddle even 471 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:27,870 Speaker 1: detractors was the, quote, purported spirit writing on his armpits. 472 00:29:28,790 --> 00:29:31,620 Speaker 1: And McCord spilled the beans on that, too. Quote, he 473 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:35,000 Speaker 1: uses a short lead pencil, number two. He prefers the 474 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:38,510 Speaker 1: corner of a room. In the evening time, a light 475 00:29:38,610 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 1: sitting by him. In the day, a window behind him. 476 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:46,840 Speaker 1: He chooses thin printing paper because easily and noiselessly opened. 477 00:29:47,540 --> 00:29:52,180 Speaker 1: The investigators write questions and names of deceased friends upon billets. 478 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:56,870 Speaker 1: He manipulates them, having his blank previously prepared. which he 479 00:29:57,030 --> 00:29:59,310 Speaker 1: holds in the hollow of his hand by the third 480 00:29:59,350 --> 00:30:03,390 Speaker 1: and fourth fingers. This he exchanges for one of the 481 00:30:03,470 --> 00:30:06,790 Speaker 1: written billets. Then perhaps he may request all to write 482 00:30:06,890 --> 00:30:11,570 Speaker 1: another question or name, during which he dexterously reads the 483 00:30:11,610 --> 00:30:16,220 Speaker 1: billet by holding it in his lap behind the table spread. Yeah, 484 00:30:16,260 --> 00:30:19,100 Speaker 1: basically he has them write those questions so they'll be occupied, 485 00:30:19,140 --> 00:30:22,040 Speaker 1: and then he can do his other stuff without them noticing. Yeah. 486 00:30:22,670 --> 00:30:25,810 Speaker 1: McCord further explained that even though there was the illusion 487 00:30:25,850 --> 00:30:29,220 Speaker 1: of randomness in which Colchester had someone select a billet 488 00:30:29,260 --> 00:30:32,020 Speaker 1: from a hat, he always used sleight of hand to 489 00:30:32,060 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 1: ensure that he knew which one was going to be selected. 490 00:30:35,260 --> 00:30:39,590 Speaker 1: And then, as he employed various theatrical tricks of dramatic misdirection, 491 00:30:39,990 --> 00:30:42,810 Speaker 1: he would use the pencil to write on his arm. 492 00:30:43,590 --> 00:30:46,830 Speaker 1: According to McCord, he then, quote, bears his arm, rubs 493 00:30:46,910 --> 00:30:50,350 Speaker 1: it slightly with dampened fingers, causing the blood to rush 494 00:30:50,490 --> 00:30:55,210 Speaker 1: into the pencil indentations, producing the wonderful blood-red writing under 495 00:30:55,250 --> 00:30:59,970 Speaker 1: the cuticle. Anybody can do this with little practice. McCord 496 00:31:00,030 --> 00:31:03,100 Speaker 1: concludes with a list of eight rules to employ if 497 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,860 Speaker 1: you want to visit Colchester to ensure that you see 498 00:31:05,940 --> 00:31:08,970 Speaker 1: all that he does. and concludes with, quote, I make 499 00:31:09,010 --> 00:31:11,670 Speaker 1: this exposure not to injure him, but to keep others 500 00:31:11,730 --> 00:31:16,760 Speaker 1: from being injured and defrauded by villainous impostors. He then 501 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:19,760 Speaker 1: lists his address and invites anyone to visit if they 502 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:25,980 Speaker 1: have more questions. What a quaint practice. Here's my home address. 503 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:30,520 Speaker 1: Here's my home address printed in papers across the country. Yeah, 504 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:32,680 Speaker 1: those eight rules I didn't list out because they're pretty, 505 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:37,970 Speaker 1: they're pretty common sense-y. It's kind of like, Make sure 506 00:31:38,030 --> 00:31:40,410 Speaker 1: that you sit in a place where you can see 507 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:44,500 Speaker 1: his hands the whole time. Make sure that you, like, 508 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:49,910 Speaker 1: mark your... Like, they're very, very simple things. Another agent, J.M. Mabbitt, 509 00:31:50,470 --> 00:31:52,870 Speaker 1: also wrote an open letter that stated that he had 510 00:31:52,910 --> 00:31:56,250 Speaker 1: been acting in good faith while working with Colchester... as 511 00:31:56,310 --> 00:31:59,710 Speaker 1: a true believer in spiritualism, and that once the deception 512 00:31:59,750 --> 00:32:03,010 Speaker 1: was detected, he took his leave of the fraud. These 513 00:32:03,050 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: letters were often printed together. He stated in his letter, quote, 514 00:32:07,060 --> 00:32:10,340 Speaker 1: and yet how the spirits can control a man so immoral, 515 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:14,760 Speaker 1: so given to drunkenness, deception, and a non-payment of board 516 00:32:14,860 --> 00:32:18,120 Speaker 1: and printing bills to say nothing of other vices still 517 00:32:18,180 --> 00:32:22,880 Speaker 1: lower is to me a mystery. Colchester continued to roam 518 00:32:23,020 --> 00:32:26,070 Speaker 1: after this, plying his trade, but really not for very long. 519 00:32:26,690 --> 00:32:30,430 Speaker 1: In early May of 1867, a year after his two 520 00:32:30,470 --> 00:32:34,630 Speaker 1: former agents had debunked his last wisps of credibility, Charles 521 00:32:34,750 --> 00:32:38,970 Speaker 1: Colchester died in Keokuk, Iowa. He had sat in the 522 00:32:39,010 --> 00:32:41,729 Speaker 1: White House just a few years earlier and had influence 523 00:32:41,780 --> 00:32:44,600 Speaker 1: over the first family, and his trial for jugglery had 524 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:48,420 Speaker 1: been widely reported in detail. But by that time, his 525 00:32:48,500 --> 00:32:51,740 Speaker 1: death ran in papers as just a one-liner. Sort of 526 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:56,440 Speaker 1: in aggregated columns of miscellaneous stuff. Yeah, it was kind 527 00:32:56,480 --> 00:33:02,190 Speaker 1: of like, Charles Colchester, medium, died in Keokuk. That was 528 00:33:02,210 --> 00:33:05,590 Speaker 1: like it. That was it? Some had a few additional, 529 00:33:06,190 --> 00:33:08,830 Speaker 1: you know, sentences about who he was, but it was 530 00:33:08,910 --> 00:33:14,360 Speaker 1: very low-key at that point. I did not anticipate when 531 00:33:14,410 --> 00:33:16,220 Speaker 1: starting this that I would end up in the middle 532 00:33:16,260 --> 00:33:21,650 Speaker 1: of the jugglery trial. Yeah! Yeah! which is pretty interesting 533 00:33:21,690 --> 00:33:30,210 Speaker 1: to me. Thanks so much for joining us on this Saturday. 534 00:33:30,510 --> 00:33:32,210 Speaker 1: If you'd like to send us a note, our email 535 00:33:32,230 --> 00:33:37,620 Speaker 1: address is historypodcast at iheartradio.com. And you can subscribe to 536 00:33:37,630 --> 00:33:40,980 Speaker 1: the show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 537 00:33:41,020 --> 00:33:42,560 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.