Conklin, J. B. (ca. 1862)
Conklin, J. B. (ca. 1862)
Nineteenth-century American "test medium" who gave answers from departed relatives to mental questions of the sitters and also did pellet reading.
Conklin's chief claim to fame was the patronage of President Abraham Lincoln. After Lincoln's election, Conklin stated in The Cleveland Plaindealer that the President-elect was a Spiritualist. Lincoln did not deny the statement, and it is recorded that for four successive Sundays, prior to the issue of the antislavery proclamation, Conklin was a guest at the presidential mansion. The spirit messages delivered by Conklin were reported to have greatly strengthened the president's determination to make the historic step.
Sources:
Britten, Emma Hardinge. Nineteenth Century Miracles. New York: William Britten, 1884.
Cooper, Robert. Spiritual Experiences. London: Heywood & Co., 1867.
Shelton, Harriet M. Abraham Lincoln Returns. New York: Evans Publishing, 1957.