Mary T. (Mary Theresa) Longley

Born in South Boston, Massachusetts, in 1853, Mary Theresa Shelhamer Longley wrote under the names Mary T. Longley and Mary Theresa Longley. She became known in Spiritualist circles as a medium and lecturer, and her writing was closely tied to the movement's interest in messages from the spirit world.

Her best-known book, Life and Labor in the Spirit World (1885), presents an imagined and carefully structured afterlife, describing its places, work, and daily conditions. She also published Teachings and Illustrations as They Emanate from the Spirit World and was associated with the Banner of Light public free circle, a well-known Spiritualist forum of the period.

Longley was also active in organized Spiritualism and is described in historical sources as an officer or secretary of the National Spiritualist Association. She died in 1928, leaving behind books that still interest readers curious about American Spiritualism, mediumship, and religious writing on the afterlife.