Modern spiritualism is generally dated from the "demonstrations" produced by the Fox Sisters. These exhibitions consisted of the usual spiritualistic phenomena: table turning, spirit rapping and the moving of large bodies by invisible means. The sisters gave public séances through the country, and interest in spiritualism spread to England. In 1888 Margaret made a confession of imposture, which she later retracted. She claimed to be the wife of Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the Arctic explorer, and published a book of his letters under the title of the "Love Life of Dr. Kane." Kane had begun his career as an explorer when he was appointed surgeon and naturalist for the Grinnell expedition in 1850, which set out to search for Sir John Franklin, who was lost somewhere in the North. After spending 16 fruitless months of search, they returned, but Kane fitted out a new expedition of which he was given command, and spent two winters in polar exploration and collection of scientific data. The voyage lasted years and brought him fame. It was between these voyages that he met Margaret Fox, and in one of the published letters he addressed her as "my wife," though there seems never to have been a formal wedding. He died in 1857 at Havana.
Rochester is an attractive city, with a park system comprising 1,649 acres. The largest parks are the Durand-Eastman, the Genesee Valley, Seneca, Maplewood and Highland. The Durand-Eastman Park occupies a beautiful tract of wooded ground on Lake Ontario.
The University of Rochester, founded 1851 as a Baptist institution, but now non-sectarian, occupies a tract of 24 acres on University Ave. in the eastern part of the city. Notable men who have been connected with the university include Henry Augustus Ward, professor of natural history from 1860 to 1875; Martin Brewer Anderson, president from 1854 to 1888, and David Jayne Hill, president from 1888 to 1896.
David Jayne Hill was born at Plainfield, N.J., June 16, 1850. After obtaining his first degree at the University of Bucknell, Pa., he studied for his A.M. in Berlin and Paris. He was president of the University of Rochester from 1888 to 1896, then spent 3 years in the study of the public law of Europe. As one peculiarly fitted by education and training for a diplomatic career, he was minister first to Switzerland (1903-1905), then to the Netherlands (1905) and from 1908 to 1911 ambassador to Germany. His numerous writings cover a wide field in biography, rhetoric, diplomacy, history and philosophy.
Falls of the Genesee River at Rochester About 1850
(From a print in the N.Y. Public Library)
For many years Rochester was the most important flour milling centre in the country, owing to the valuable water power furnished by the falls and the fertility of the wheat fields of the Genesee Valley.
Rochester Theological Seminary prepares students for the ministry of the Baptist Church, and has no organic connection with the university. The Mechanics' Institute, founded in 1885 by Henry Lomb of the Bausch-Lomb Optical Co., is an unusually successful school of trades and handicrafts. It occupies a large building, the gift of George Eastman of the Eastman Kodak Co.
For many years Rochester was the most important flour milling centre in the country, owing to the valuable water furnished by the falls and the fertility of the wheat fields of the Genesee Valley. Flour milling is no longer so important an industry here—Minneapolis having taken first rank in this respect—but Rochester ranks high among the great manufacturing cities of the country. Its total output is valued at more than $250,000,000 annually. It leads the world in the manufacture of cameras, lenses, and photographic materials, and it is one of the principal cities of the country in the distribution of seeds, bulbs and plants, and in the manufacture of clothing and shoes. Other important products are machinery of various kinds, lubricating oil, candied fruits, syrups and confectionery clothing, tobacco and cigars, enameled tanks and filing devices.