Most attribute the beginnings of Spiritualism to the Fox sisters from Hydesville, New York. Their communication with a spirit through rappings lead to an investigation into the afterlife. But the Fox sisters’ communications were not an isolated incident. Years before their experiences in their rural cabin, Andrew Jackson Davis was not only obtaining information by visiting the spirit world while in a trance state, he predicted the rise of Spiritualism.

Andrew Jackson Davis was born in Blooming Grove, a small town along the Hudson River. The family moved frequently, and Davis received little education. He eventually apprenticed to a shoemaker for two years and would have worked in a typical business if he hadn’t attended a lecture on Animal Magnetism given by Dr. J.S. Grimes in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Davis tried the hypnotic technique, but didn’t have any success with it until a local tailor, William Livingston, threw him into a trance. In the trance state, he reached a higher plane of consciousness. While on this plane, he could understand the laws of the universe. He diagnosed and prescribed cures for individuals, and explained spiritual and metaphysical phenomena.

Even though he only had five months schooling and claimed to have read only a handful of books, he dictated a book in 1846 entitled, Principles of Nature. It was published a year later when he was only 21. He eventually published over 30 books with topics that included the seven planes of existence, health, science, philosophy, and education. In the Great Harmonia, he refers to evolution nine years before Darwin published his book, On the Origin of Species. He also predicted the existence of the planets Neptune and Pluto before their discovery.

Davis predicted the coming of Spiritualism in Principles of Nature (1847), saying, “And the world will hail with delight the ushering in of that era when the interiors of men will be opened, and the spiritual communion will be established.” The Fox family would have their encounter with their famous rapping spirit just a year later.

Several sources mentioned that Davis met with President Abraham Lincoln, both at the Whitehouse and in Davis’ home in New York. Davis eventually obtained a medical degree and moved to Boston where he opened a book shop and prescribed herbal remedies. He died in 1910.