Spiritualism in the White House and the 19th Century

[RJNorton]

I agree with what Gene said in another thread. I think Abraham was worried that the spiritualists were faking it, and Mary was being duped. In fact Lincoln was so concerned that he asked the superintendent of the Smithsonian Institution to "look into" one of the spiritualists. Lincoln also asked Noah Brooks to look into this person (Colchester). Brooks caught Colchester manipulating mechanical devices during a séance (not a White House one) in order to create sounds coming from spirits of the deceased.

Colchester got the boot.