The Spirit Letters - Conclusion

Editor's Note No. 1:  In the past three weeks we've read three different pieces Grandma Audrey wrote to introduce the so-called spirit letters. Today, we'll take a look at the letters themselves -- the notes of Amy Hagadorn Smith (Audrey's paternal grandmother), purportedly jotted on tablets as the words were dictated to her by spirits.

I've never seen the actual handwritten notes; what I have is a transcript typed by Audrey. Because of the frequent misspellings and run-on sentences (not common in Audrey's own writings), it's my impression that she typed the notes exactly as they appeared in Amy's handwritten tablets, errors and all. So will I, with one exception. Sometimes Audrey used a series of spaces between phrases--probably just as Amy did--to indicate where one scrap of dictation ended and another one began. I would do it the same way here, but the Blogger program I use to write this blog insists on deleting extra spaces, so I'll use a light-colored symbol (this barely visible one: <<>>) to mark the spaces Amy used in her notes.

Here we go:

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Los Angeles, Cal.  Aug 15, 1913

I am the danish king christian, the second <<>> I came to the spirit life 1692, when the nations were at war with each other as they are today <<>> I lost the crown to sweden and for a time they ruled, then another war came and denmark won it back, and it has stood till now <<>> I see you have a brother here <<>> you do not believe it for you have not heard of his death from home so I come to tell you <<>> he was killed in a mill last January so try to believe it from your spirit friends <<>> he has been here for himself as a spirit still you think it is imagination can't you believe them <<>> he left his farm to you <<>> you will get an offer for it but don't sell it tell him not till you see it <<>> I want you to go for your brother or is son found a box of treasure that was my own <<>> it was stolen from a danish ship that I sent to America in 1691 to get out of denmark when I lost the crown <<>> another ship seized it and took it ashore much more that you will find if you look for it on his farm just south of the spot where they found this box you can get it all if you keep the farm for a time will you <<>> you may do with it as you like only do all the good you can another boy found the box soon after he took the silver bricks to his mother <<>> she has them still but don't know they are of any value <<>> he only got the bricks she may sell them to you if you want them <<>> the rest is where george told you will see the pearls I took from the crown and the rubies I had on my robe then there is some more stones that was among other things I thought to bring them to america and get a large parcel of land there is one more box and 3 sacks <<>> all are still there but you get them <<>> if you can't, then let it go for I can't it but you can help others as I know you will and that will help me for I will feel as if I had a big load off my mind <<>> the ship that got this was a pirate ship so did not dare put it on the market <<>> they buried it and got caut soon after and was hanged <<>> it has lain there all these years near a small brook on the south fork of it where it is not good to cultivate some timber is there but the heavy raines have washed it nearly to the surface <<>> you will find more silver bricks and some valuable tablewear in silver and some more valuable china dishes that I packed in a strong box from my own palace <<>> it is very find you will be proud to use it <<>> it is all right you will see a beautifull chain of gold with a medal I use to wear it on state occasions <<>> wear it it is pure gold <<>> put it on a watch and wear it for me then some more gems I had for the throne clothe they are still on it but it will be rotten <<>> take then and get you a nice necklace made there is enough for it there <<>> my seal ring and others you can get them changed and give them to the sons then in the sacks were the real treasure it was my gift from the house of Hapsburgh <<>> it is worth a randsom <<>> the house of Hapsburgh is one of the oldest on record but you are from the house of Holenbein a branch of Hapsburgh and I am so glad to bring this to you <<>> I will go with you to your brothers farm and help get this but don't sell it <<>> you get this away he did not know it till he sees it from this side <<>> I found it from this side of life <<>> I was a single man so had in heirs cousins came to the throne after me but long after I lost the crown and they could never find the crown or any of the jewels they were never found and they never will be for them get this and do all the good you can and when you come here give it to some worthy poor for their comfort while on earth <<>> you want to know of my death <<>> I was wounded when they took the palace <<>> my heart was broken to and I did not care to live longer <<>> it was in 1697 sure your church is all right it will awaken man kind to the truthe and to a higher life you <<>> you ask who was Constintine <<>> he lived in the 1(?) century and was a great man in his day <<>> then another by the same name was a kings guardsman that was all then you hear of another Livingston he was a cousin to Robert Livingston his children are the ones that held his patent untill it was wrested from them by the Anterenters so you see you are coming in to what is yours by right so go and get it and use it for good for it has been idle so long and we could not show it to the right ones till now <<>> do as you are guided and it will be given to you for you are the one to get it now if <<>> you feel as if you are the dupe of all your friends you are mistaken for the message hear is will suhurely come to you with the power of attorney to help you so be brave a little longer you are the dear sensative soul that we can use to give this to the world say to all I don't believe but I know it is true that our spirit friends or with us and can help us if we do right.

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Editor's Note No. 2:  Okay, then. Now that we understand why Amy always declared her intention to move back to New York, let's start at the beginning and check out some of the allegations in her notes. For more information, click on the links provided.

• References to "I am the danish king christian, the second..."; "I came to spirit life 1692..."; and "I  was a single man so had in heirs cousins who came to the throne...":  Christian "the second" died in 1559, more than 140 years before the spiritual entity who purportedly dictated these notes. According to this list of Danish monarchs, all of the kings named Christian (ten of them to date, I through X) were married and had multiple children. 
• Reference to "...when the nations were at war with each other...": A Wikipedia article about the history of Denmark shows that Denmark was frequently at war, often with Sweden, and Christian II was certainly involved during his reign (1513-1523). Again, that time period is much earlier than the date referenced in Amy's notes.
• Reference to Amy's "brother here" ("here" meaning in the spirit world); "he was killed in a mill last January"; and (much later in the notes) "the rest is where George told you will see the pearls...":  Amy had three older brothers (Minor, Christopher and William) and a younger one named George Cheritie Hagadorn, who was the closest sibling in age to Amy. I haven't been able to ascertain the dates of death of the three older brothers, but George died on August 16, 1936--not in January of 1913 as indicated in the notes.
• References to "you ask who was Constantine"; "...was a great man in his day"; and "...another of the same name was a kings guardsman": Here are articles about Constantine the Great and "another of the same name," Constantine II. We have no way of knowing why Amy would have asked the spirits about them.
• References to "...the house of Hapsburgh..." and "...the house of Holenbein a branch of Hapsburgh...": Wikipedia has articles about the House of Habsburg and the House of Hohenberg, close enough to the spelling in Amy's notes that I believe these names are her interpretation of the ones told to her by somebody's mysterious voice, spirit or otherwise. Hohenberg was indeed a branch of the Habsburg line.
• References to "...a cousin of Robert Livingston..."; "the ones that held his patent until it was wrested from him by the Anterenters...":  An online article titled "The Breakup of Livingston Manor" describes land patents Robert Livingston obtained in New York. One point of interest is the mention of the "Manor of Rensselaerswyck." Amy's husband, Samuel S. Smith, was born in New York in the town of Rensselaerville, and Amy herself was born in a town named Livingstonville in Schoharie, New York. Robert Livingston's land holdings were apparently vast. As for the "Anterenters," I found this article by Nancy S. Cannon about the Anti-Rent Movement, a revolt by farmers in several New York counties, including Rensselaer and Schoharie, against "what they considered an unjust system of land tenure."

As stated in earlier posts, I don't know if this is the entirety of Amy's spirit-letter transcriptions or not. It's all I've seen, and if there's more, I'd certainly like to read it. Whatever your opinion about the source of Amy's notes, you have to agree that they make you very, very curious.