Annie Lord Chamberlain: Musical Medium

[Karyn]

ANNIE LORD CHAMBERLAIN: Musical Medium

 

Annie Lord was born in Maine to Cyrus and Lydia (Luce) Lord in 1842, the second of their three children. Dr. Lord held regular spiritual circles in his home. Jennie, who was six years older than Annie, was first to display a talent for communication with the spirit world. It wasn’t until Annie was about 12 years old that she felt tingling in her arms and hands, like touching a “galvanic battery.”

Dr. Lord was instructed by the spirits to work with Annie by sitting in a circle with her three times a day for ten days. At the end of that time, he was told that she would be a physical medium. She placed a guitar under a table at noon, in broad daylight, and the instrument played. That was followed by loud raps on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Their practice sessions continued. They added bells, a tambourine, and other small instruments. She used a white porcelain slate, held under a table, to write messages.

When Annie joined the circle in a darkened room, her abilities increased. In 1864, at the house of Mr. T. Lane in South Malden, Massachusetts, about 20 people attended her séance. A table was set with small instruments, including hand bells, a musical box, and trumpets. Other instruments, a guitar, banjo, violin, drum, and violincello rested on the floor. According to one witness, “All the instruments seemed to sound in concert and exact time to our singing….”

At one point, she went to the home of Mr. Burnell of Westbrook, Maine where her skills were tested. She held her circles in daylight so they could be observed. During that time, footsteps were heard throughout the house. She produced 37 written communications on new paper placed in a locked drawer. She also manifested music, singing, and fresh flowers

Annie’s health was fragile, and she moved to Auburn to recuperate. Unfortunately, her reputation followed her. Hundreds requested audiences. She was used by some of her guides to diagnose diseases and prescribe for the sick. She was even known to cure mental illness.

Eventually, she was taken in by Colonel William Cushman and his wife in Ottawa, Illinois. “Her constitution was naturally frail and delicate and had been so fearfully overtaxed that it seemed impossible under merely mundane influences that her life could be extended.”

Annie married Mr. Chamberlain, a man much older than her, and as she grew older, spent less time with her mediumship. She lived a long life and died in 1920 in Milford, Massachusetts.

Additional Reading:

Britten, Emma Harding (1872) “Annie Lord Chamberlain: A Biographical Sketch” Western Star, December 1872.

“Spiritualism: Musical and Other Manifestations in Boston, U.S.A.” Spiritual Magazine, October 1864, Reprinted in Christian Spiritualist, 1873, Thomas Scott, Helborn, U.K

Annie’s health was fragile, and she moved to Auburn to recuperate. Unfortunately, her reputation followed her. Hundreds requested audiences. She was used by some of her guides to diagnose diseases and prescribe for the sick. She was even known to cure mental illness.

Eventually, she was taken in by Colonel William Cushman and his wife in Ottawa, Illinois. “Her constitution was naturally frail and delicate and had been so fearfully overtaxed that it seemed impossible under merely mundane influences that her life could be extended.”

Annie married Mr. Chamberlain, a man much older than her, and as she grew older, spent less time with her mediumship. She lived a long life and died in 1920 in Milford, Massachusetts.

Additional Reading:

Britten, Emma Harding (1872) “Annie Lord Chamberlain: A Biographical Sketch” Western Star, December 1872.

“Spiritualism: Musical and Other Manifestations in Boston, U.S.A.” Spiritual Magazine, October 1864, Reprinted in Christian Spiritualist, 1873, Thomas Scott, Helborn, U.K