author
Thomas Olman Todd
A Sunderland writer and researcher whose surviving books connect two very different worlds: Freemasonry and early Spiritualism. His work is still read today for its close-up look at the story behind the Rochester knockings and the rise of modern Spiritualism.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Thomas Olman Todd was a British author associated with Sunderland, England. Reliable library and public-domain records connect him with The History of the Phoenix Lodge, No. 94, Sunderland (1906), and Wikisource identifies him as a Grand Master of Phoenix Lodge, suggesting a strong link to local Masonic history.
He is also remembered for Hydesville: The Story of the Rochester Knockings, Which Proclaimed the Advent of Modern Spiritualism (1905), a short historical work on the events often described as the beginning of modern Spiritualism. Project Gutenberg and Internet Archive both preserve this book, and one archive record identifies him as a past president of the British Spiritualists' Lyceum Union.
The surviving record around his life is fairly sparse, so many personal details are hard to confirm confidently. What is clear is that his published work focused on documenting movements and institutions he cared about, leaving behind concise, source-rich books that still circulate in digital libraries.