author
C. (Charles) Hammond
d. 1859
A Universalist preacher from western New York who later became part of the early Spiritualist movement, he wrote vivid, unusual books about communication with the spirit world. His work captures a moment when religion, reform, and supernatural belief were colliding in mid-19th-century America.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born around 1805 to Eliakim and Louisa Hammond, he first drew notice in the Universalist community in 1830 while living in Royalton, Niagara County, New York, where he began preaching universal salvation. An obituary and denominational sketch describe him as a minister who spent nearly thirty years in the ministry, serving several societies in western New York and later living in Rochester.
Hammond is best remembered today for books such as Light from the Spirit World, published in 1852, which presents him as a medium and shows his move from Universalist preaching into Spiritualism. Later booksellers and library records likewise identify him as a New York minister who embraced spirit communication and automatic writing.
He died in Rochester, New York, on July 10, 1859. Because the surviving sources found here focus mainly on his ministry and Spiritualist writing, many personal details remain unclear, but his work still stands as a revealing piece of early American religious and occult history.