Mar 29 - A Child's Spiritualist Funeral

On October 26, 1867, Hattie Blakely wrote to her family:  “One of the scholars died last week.  She was from the grammer school.  She was buried with spiritualist rites.”

What an interesting topic!  Why couldn’t she say more?  She obviously did not know the younger child and she was not included in those mysterious burial rites, but it was undoubtedly the talk of the school for a while.

Spiritualism is a belief that spirits of the dead have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living. The afterlife, or "spirit world", is seen by spiritualists as a place in which spirits continue to evolve, and thus can provide useful knowledge to living people about moral and ethical issues. 

Spiritualism developed in the 1840s, in English-speaking countries, particularly among the middle and upper classes.  American Spiritualism started in upstate New York, just over the border with Rutland County.  The beliefs gained followers through periodicals, tours by trance lecturers, camp meetings, and missionary activities of accomplished mediums. 

Many prominent spiritualists were women, and like most spiritualists, supported causes such as the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage.  However, many of the reformers, including the famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass, considered the movement to be a superstitious cult, and avoided associating with it. 

This is the prosperous middle class and the educated culture of the Blakely family at this time, and it is reasonable to expect that some relatives or family friends would explore spiritualism, but we have seen no other mention of these beliefs in the Blakely family letters, or of spiritualist people they knew.  Not even their gossipy and opinionated grandmother Sarah Smith Horr had anything to say on the subject. 

anti-Spiritualist pamphlet

And yet it was a controversial topic of public discussion at the time.  Here is a pamphlet that shows a Christian-based claim that spiritualism is a form of witchcraft.

mourning mother

The appeal of spiritualism was strong.  Many families were grieving the death of a loved one, from diseases and accidents and the American Civil War.   Grieving parents of children who died hoped that they could communicate with their child, and the child could continue to grow and develop on a spiritual level.

What would those spiritualist funeral rites look like?  The Spiritualists' National Union of Great Britain has published this modern description, which sounds very compatible with the liberal religion of the Blakelys, but with expectations of future communication with the person who has “passed on” to another realm.

early Spiritualists

Funeral Services the Spiritualist Way

“The service is a time for remembering and paying tribute to the life and actions of the deceased. It is a time to celebrate their life on earth, so that those who remain remember them with joy and thankfulness for the shared memories.

“The Spiritualist Service emphasizes the continuation of life in another sphere of existence beyond this earthly realm, and that the death of the physical body is merely the shedding of a mortal garment that has served its purpose.

“The Spiritualist Service may be personalised for those who would wish a non traditional religious service, most Spiritualist Ministers and Officiants will fit in with the wishes of the deceased and our Services do not include what many see as orthodox religious language.

“All services are conducted in a Spiritual manner with both dignity and respect. Types of ceremonies offered include Burial, Cremation, Scattering of Ashes & Memorial Services. “

spiritualist images:  http://www.fst.org/150home.htm

The Spiritualists' National Union:  http://www.snu.org.uk/community/ministers/funerals.html