Moncure Daniel Conway (March 17, 1832 – November 15, 1907) was an American

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

minister and radical writer. At various times

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

, Unitarian, and a

Freethinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other metho ...

, he descended from patriotic and patrician families of Virginia and Maryland but spent most of the final four decades of his life abroad in England and France, where he wrote biographies of

Edmund Randolph Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 September 12, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, and the 7th Governor of Virginia. As a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to create ...

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

and

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

and his own autobiography. He led freethinkers in London's South Place Chapel, now

Conway Hall The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United Kin ...

Family

Conway's parents descended from the

First Families of Virginia First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsbur ...

. His father, Walter Peyton Conway, was a wealthy slave-holding gentleman farmer, county judge, and state representative; his home, known as the Conway House, still stands at 305 King Street (also known as River Road), along the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the entir ...

. Conway's mother, Margaret Stone Daniel Conway, was the granddaughter of

Thomas Stone Thomas Stone (1743 – October 5, 1787) was an American Founding Father, planter, politician, and lawyer who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a delegate for Maryland. He later worked on the committee that formed the Artic ...

of Maryland (a signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

), and in addition to running the household, also practiced homeopathy, learned from her doctor father. Both parents were Methodists, his father having left the Episcopal church, his mother the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, and they hosted Methodist meetings in their home until a suitable church was finally built in Fredericksburg. An uncle, Judge Eustace Conway, advocated states' rights in Virginia's General Assembly (as did Walter Conway). Another uncle, Richard C.L. Moncure, served on what later became the

Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrativ ...

, was a layman in the Episcopal Church, and became known for his integrity and hatred of intolerance. His great-uncle, Peter Vivian Daniel, served on the United States Supreme Court, where he upheld slavery and the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most con ...

, including in the

Dred Scott Decision ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'', 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, enslaved or free; th ...

of 1857. Two of his three brothers later fought for the Confederacy. His opposition to slavery reportedly came from his mother's side of the family, including his great-grandfather Travers Daniel (justice of the Stafford Court, died 1824) and his mother herself (who fled to

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river that joins the Delaware R ...

and lived with her daughter and son-in-law Professor Marsh after the Civil War broke out) as well as from his boyhood experiences. Nonetheless, during his youth, Moncure Conway briefly took a pro-slavery position under the influence of a cousin, Richmond editor

John Moncure Daniel John Moncure Daniel (October 24, 1825 – March 30, 1865) was the US minister to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1854-1861. However, he is best known for his role as the executive editor of the '' Richmond Examiner'', one of the chief newspapers of th ...

, himself a protege of Justice Daniel.

Early life

Conway was born in

Falmouth, Virginia Falmouth is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stafford County, Virginia, United States. Situated on the north bank of the Rappahannock River at the falls, the community is north of and opposite the city of Fredericksburg. Recognized by the U. ...

. After attending the

Fredericksburg Classical and Mathematical Academy Fredericksburg may refer to: Places United States *Fredericksburg, California *Fredericksburg, Indiana *Fredericksburg, Iowa *Fredericksburg, Missouri *Fredericksburg, Ohio, a village in Wayne County *Fredericksburg, Mahoning County, Ohio, an unin ...

(alma mater of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

and other famous Virginians), Conway followed his elder brother to Methodist-affiliated Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1849. During his time at Dickinson, Conway helped found the college's first student publication and was influenced by Professor John McClintock, which caused him to embrace Methodism as well as an anti-slavery position, although that controversy was starting to split the denomination. In Fredericksburg, uncle Eustace funded the pro-slavery Southern Conference faction and his father the at-least-theoretically anti-slavery Baltimore Conference faction. While in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

as discussed below, Conway married Ellen Davis Dana. She was a fellow Unitarian, feminist, and abolitionist. The couple had three sons (two of whom survived childhood) and a daughter during their long marriage, which ended with her death from cancer in 1898. Despite the previous tension with his own family over his opposition to slavery, Moncure Conway nevertheless brought his bride to meet them, during which Ellen broke a Southern social constraint by hugging and kissing a young slave girl in front of family members; after this, it would take 17 years before Conway reconciled with his family.

Career

After studying law for a year in

Warrenton, Virginia Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, of which it is the seat of government. The population was 9,611 at the 2010 census, up from 6,670 at the 2000 census. The estimated population in 2019 was 10,027. It is at the junction of U.S. R ...

, partly out of a moral crisis caused by seeing a lynching of a Black man whose retrial had been ordered by the Court of Appeals, Conway became a circuit-riding

minister. Conway had self-published his first pamphlet in 1850, "Free Schools in Virginia: A Plea of Education, Virtue and Thrift, vs. Ignorance, Vice and Poverty", but had been unable to convince local politicians to follow his recommendations, particularly as the pro-slavery faction believed such universal education influenced by Northern mores. His Rockville Circuit included his native state and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

through Rockville, Maryland, where he became acquainted with the Quaker

Roger Brooke Brigadier General Roger Brooke (June 14, 1878 in Sandy Springs, Maryland – December 18, 1940) was an American surgeon and U.S. Army medical corps officer. Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, is named after him. Biography Broo ...

, whom he considered his first avowed abolitionist, despite his familial relation to the jurist Roger Brooke Taney. In 1853, after being reassigned to a circuit around

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

and shortly after his beloved elder brother Peyton died of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

and his assistant Becky of another, Moncure Conway left the Methodist church and entered the

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

school of divinity to continue his spiritual journey. Before graduating in 1854, he met

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

and fell under the influence of

Transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in New England. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Wald ...

, as well as became an outspoken abolitionist after discussions with

Theodore Parker Theodore Parker (August 24, 1810 – May 10, 1860) was an American transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church. A reformer and abolitionist, his words and popular quotations would later inspire speeches by Abraham Lincol ...

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he foun ...

, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and

Wendell Phillips Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811 – February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney. According to George Lewis Ruffin, a Black attorney, Phillips was seen by many Blacks as "the one whi ...

In America

After graduating from Harvard, Conway accepted a call to the First Unitarian Church of

, but he was invited to seek another position after enunciating abolitionist views. Moreover, when Conway returned to his native Virginia, his rumored connection with an attempt to rescue the fugitive slave Anthony Burns in Boston, Massachusetts (whose master Conway had known in Stafford, Virginia, before their move to Alexandria and was ultimately purchased by an abolitionist and set free) aroused bitter hostility among his old neighbors and friends and family. Conway fled being tarred and feathered in 1854. Nonetheless, almost at once, Conway was invited to preach sermons at the Unitarian congregation in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. He served as minister at that anti-slavery congregation from late 1855 until after the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. However, when in 1859, he announced to the congregation that he no longer believed in miracles or Christ's divinity, a third of the congregation left, but the "Free Church" survived. Conway also edited a short-lived liberal periodical, ''The Dial'', in 1860-1861, linking his emerging spiritual views to his Transcendentalist background. In Cincinnati, he became more acquainted with Jews and Catholics, and counseled against discriminating against them because of their religions. A story he published in ''The Dial'' was grounded in

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

, and explained how Arthur's sword

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...

came into

's possession, and then was passed on to John Brown, who used it in his raid on Harpers Ferry.

Civil War

Conway had become editor of the anti-slavery weekly ''Commonwealth'' in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and in 1861, Conway published semi-anonymously ''The Rejected Stone; or Insurrection vs. Resurrection in America'', identifying himself only as a "Native of Virginia". The book was published in three editions and ultimately handed out to Union soldiers after the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. During the next year, Conway advocated abolition, including in a Smithsonian lecture series in Washington, DC, which earned him and the more moderate Unitarian minister

William Henry Channing William Henry Channing (May 25, 1810 – December 23, 1884) was an American Unitarian clergyman, writer and philosopher. Biography William Henry Channing was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Channing's father, Francis Dana Channing, died when he wa ...

a meeting with President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

to discuss his argument that announcing abolition would weaken the Confederacy. While in Washington, DC, Conway located thirty-one of his father's slaves who had fled from Virginia into Georgetown. Conway secured train tickets and safe-conduct passes for them and escorted them on a dangerous trip through Maryland to safety in

Yellow Springs, Ohio Yellow Springs is a village in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,697 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to Antioch College. History The area of the village had long b ...

, where he believed they would be safe because of the town's accepting culture. In 1862, during the Union occupation before the devastating Battle of Fredericksburg in December of that year, Conway returned home to Falmouth and learned that his family's house had been spared from destruction because of its association with him, although it was commandeered for use as a hospital for wounded soldiers (at which

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

would work as a nurse). That year, Conway published another powerful plea for emancipation, ''The Golden Hour'' (1862). On New Year's Day, 1863 (also called Emancipation Day, because President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, news of which reached Boston by telegraph), Conway with fellow abolitionists

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the " Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...

Amos Bronson Alcott Amos Bronson Alcott (; November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and a ...

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most fa ...

, George Luther Stearns and

unveiled a marble bust of John Brown at Stearns' home. Also in 1862, after spending more and more time away from his church advancing the abolitionist cause, and growing dissatisfied with the theological, liturgical, and social conservatism of mainstream Unitarianism, Conway left that denomination's ministry, and he maintained an uneasy and uncertain relationship with Unitarianism in America and subsequently in England until he and Ellen made a clean break.

London

In April 1863, fellow American abolitionists sent Conway to London to convince the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

that the

was primarily a war of abolition and to not support the Confederacy. Under English influence, Conway eventually contacted

James Murray Mason James Murray Mason (November 3, 1798April 28, 1871) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as senator from Virginia, having previously represented Frederick County, Virginia, in the Virginia House of Delegates. A grandson of George Ma ...

, representative of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

to Britain "on behalf of the leading antislavery men of America," offering withdrawal of support for prosecution of the war in exchange for emancipation of the slaves. Mason publicly rejected the overture, embarrassing Conway's sponsors, who quickly and angrily withdrew support. Moreover, Conway had to apologize to US Secretary of State

William H. Seward William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senator. A determined oppon ...

, who could have caused revocation of his passport for attempting to speak as a private citizen for the US government. Photo of Moncure D

Rather than go back to America, where Conway no longer felt welcome as a suspected traitor to his childhood Virginia friends and neighbors and he paid someone to take his place after being drafted to serve in the Union army, Conway traveled to Italy. There, he reunited with his wife and children in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

before moving back to London. There, in 1864, he became minister of the South Place Chapel (serving in 1864–65 and 1893–97) as well as leader of the then named South Place Religious Society in Finsbury, London. Conway continued writing and publishing, including articles in both British and American magazines and traveled to Paris and even Russia.Goolrick p. 100 He also served as a war correspondent during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Conway published biographies of

and

, as well as acted as the American agent for Robert Browning and the London literary agent for

, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Conway also abandoned

theism Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of a supreme being or deities. In common parlance, or when contrasted with '' deism'', the term often describes the classical conception of God that is found in monotheism (also referred ...

after his son Emerson died in 1864. His thinking continued to move from Emersonian

transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in New England. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Wald ...

toward a more humanistic Freethought. He conducted funeral services for his friend Artemus Ward and preached memorial at memorial services for many other famous literary figures. Moreover, women were allowed to preach at South Place Chapel, among them Annie Besant, whom Mrs. Conway had befriended. However, the South Place congregation and Conway soon left fellowship with the Unitarian Church. For a year from November 1865 Cleveland Hall was leased for Sunday evenings so Conway could "address the working classes." However, the audience consisted of well-dressed lower-middle-class people. Conway remained the leader of South Place until 1886, when

Stanton Coit Stanton may refer to: Places United Kingdom ;Populated places * Stanton, Derbyshire, near Swadlincote * Stanton, Gloucestershire * Stanton, Northumberland * Stanton, Staffordshire * Stanton, Suffolk * New Stanton, Derbyshire * Stanton by Br ...

took his place. Under Coit's leadership, South Place was renamed to the

South Place Ethical Society The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United Kin ...

. However Coit's tenure ended in 1892 in a losing power struggle, and Conway resumed leadership until his death. Conway attended the salon of radicals

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and

Clementia Taylor Clementia Taylor ( née Doughty; 17 December 1810 – 11 April 1908) was an English women's rights activist and radical.''ODNB''. Life Clementia (known as Mentia to her friends) was born in Brockdish, Norfolk, one of twelve children. Her family ...

at Aubrey House in

Campden Hill Campden Hill is a hill in Kensington, West London, bounded by Holland Park Avenue on the north, Kensington High Street on the south, Kensington Palace Gardens on the east and Abbotsbury Road on the west. The name derives from the former ''Campden ...

, West London. He also was a member of Clementia's "Pen and Pencil Club", at which young writers and artists read and exhibited their works. Conway moved to Notting Hill to be near the Taylors at Aubrey House. In 1868, Conway was one of four speakers at the first open public meeting in support of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. His many literary and intellectual friends included

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

, Robert Browning,

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

, Charles Lyell, and

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

. In 1878, he attempted to personally endow a new, non-denominational women's college at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

; frightened at this prospect, Anglicans made haste to instead create Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, which was the first women's college at Oxford. In the 1870s and the 1880s, Conway returned occasionally to the United States, where he reconciled with his Virginia family in 1875 and toured in the West about Demonology and the famous Englishmen he knew. In 1897 Conway and his terminally-ill (from cancer) wife Ellen returned from London to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to fulfill her wish of dying on American soil; she died on Christmas Day; their son Dana also died that year. As the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

approached, Conway turned toward pacifism and became disaffected with his countrymen, moving to France to devote much of the rest of his life to the peace movement and writing. However, he occasionally returned to Fredericksburg, which had come to admire his cultural accomplishments. Conway also traveled to India and wrote about it shortly before his death.

India

Conway visited

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and described his experiences in ''My Pilgrimage to the Wise Men of the East'', 1906. He visited

Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 187 ...

in 1884 and denounced the

Mahatma letters ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett'' is a book published in 1923 by A. Trevor Barker. () According to Theosophical teachings, the letters were written between 1880 and 1884 by Koot Hoomi and Morya to A. P. Sinnett. The letters were previous ...

as fraudulent. He suggested that

Koot Hoomi Koot Hoomi (also spelled Kuthumi, and frequently referred to simply as K.H.) is said to be one of the Mahatmas that inspired the founding of the Theosophical Society in 1875. In Theosophy it is believed that he engaged in a correspondence with tw ...

was a fictitious creation of Blavatsky. Conway wrote that Blavatsky "created the imaginary Koothoomi (originally Kothume) by piecing together parts of the names of her two chief disciples, Olcott and Hume." Versluis, Arthur. (1993). ''American Transcendentalism and Asian Religions''. Oxford University Press. p. 291.

Death

Conway died alone, at 75, in his apartment in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. His corpse was found on November 15, 1907 and was ultimately returned to

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

, for burial in Kensico cemetery.

Legacy

in Holborn, London is named in his honor. In 2004, Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner proclaimed Conway the only descendant of a Founding Father of the nation to physically lead slaves to freedom. Both Ohio and Virginia have erected historical markers in his honor, and Conway's childhood home was designated a U.S. and Virginia landmark. Moncure D

Works

*''Tracts for To-day'' (1858
online edition
*''The Natural History of the Devil'' (1859) *''The Rejected Stone: or, Insurrection vs. Resurrection in America, By a Native of Virginia'' (1861
online edition
*''The Golden Hour'' (1862
online edition
*''Testimonies Concerning Slavery'' (1864
online edition
*''The Earthward Pilgrimage'' (1870
online edition
*''Republican Superstitions as Illustrated in the Political History of America'' (1872
online edition
*''Christianity'' (1876
online edition
*''Idols and Ideals, with an Essay on Christianity'' (1877
online edition
*''Demonology and Devil Lore'' (2 vols., 1878

*''A Necklace of Stories'' (1880
online edition
*''Thomas Carlyle'' (1881
online edition
*''The Wandering Jew'' (1881
online edition
*''Emerson at Home and Abroad'' (1882
online edition
*''Travels in South Kensington: with Notes on Decorative Art and Rrchitecture in England'' (1882
online edition
*''Lessons for the Day'' (1882
online edition
*''The Saint Patrick Myth (1883)'' *''Pine and Palm: A Novel'' (2 vols., 1887
online edition
*''Life and Papers of Edmund Randolph'' (1888
online edition
*''Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne'' (1890
online edition
*''George Washington's Rules of Civility: Traced to their Sources and Restored'' (1890
online edition
*''The Life of Thomas Paine'' with an unpublished sketch of Paine by

William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restrain foreign ...

(2 vols., 1892
online edition
*''The Writings of Thomas Paine'' (1894
online edition
*''Solomon and Solomonic Literature'' (1899
online edition
*''Autobiography, Memories and Experiences'' (2 vols., 1904
online edition
*''My Pilgrimage to the Wise Men of the East'' (1906
online edition

References

Sources

*
Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography
- Article by Charles A. Howe *Burtis, Mary Elizabeth. ''Moncure Conway, 1832-1907.'' New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1952. *d'Entremont, John. ''Southern Emancipator: Moncure Conway: The American Years, 1832-1865.'' Oxford University Press, 1987. *Easton, Loyd D. ''Hegel's First American Followers: The Ohio Hegelians: J.D. Stallo, Peter Kaufmann, Moncure Conway, August Willich.'' Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1966. *Good, James A., ed. ''Moncure Daniel Conway: Autobiography and Miscellaneous Writings.'' 3 volumes. Bristol, UK: Thoemmes Press, 2003. *Good, James A., ed. ''The Ohio Hegelians.'' 3 volumes. Bristol, UK: Thoemmes Press, 2004. *Walker, Peter. ''Moral Choices: Memory, Desire, and Imagination in Nineteenth-Century American Abolition.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1978. *

External links

Moncure Conway Foundation

Moncure Conway in ''Encyclopedia Virginia''
* * *
''Wandering Jew and Wandering Jeweess''
screenplays {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Moncure Daniel 1832 births 1907 deaths 19th-century American philosophers American abolitionists American Methodist clergy American Unitarian clergy Critics of Theosophy Dickinson College alumni Ethical movement Freethought writers Harvard Divinity School alumni Hegelian philosophers Moncure family People associated with Conway Hall Ethical Society People from Falmouth, Virginia Burials at Kensico Cemetery Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters