Conant, Mrs. J. H. (1831-1875)
Conant, Mrs. J. H. (1831-1875)
American medium who, through the generosity of Luther Colby, editor of The Banner of Light, gave, for the last 17 years of her life, free public séances in Boston. Her trance messages, characterized by the impersonation of the departed, were published weekly in the Banner.
Conant was known in Spiritualist circles as both an inspirational speaker and a platform healer. For her medical diagnosis the medium relied on the spirit of Dr. John Dix Fisher, an old Boston physician.
While in trance she believed herself to be outside her body and wandering about, and on occasion her double was believed to manifest through other mediums. She also wrote automatically in trance, and reportedly spoke in many languages un-known to her especially in various Indian dialects, an ability known as xenoglossia.
Sources:
Putnam, Allen, comp. Flashes of Light from the Spirit-Land. Boston: William White, 1872.
——. Biography of Mrs. J. H. Conant. Boston: W. White and Co., 1873.