Elizabeth Blake Medium Psychic from Bradrick, Ohio

Research of Elizabeth Winn Blake, the Well-Known Spiritualist, and Medium from Bradrick, Ohio

Written and researched by Martha J. Martin

Mediums, spiritualists, or psychics have always been a sense of wonderment throughout the years, and much research has been done to either prove or criticize those who claim to have the ‘gift’ of foretelling the future.

Lawrence County, Ohio, had Mrs. Elizabeth Winn [sometimes spelled Wynn] Blake, who lived in Bradrick, Ohio, a small community between Chesapeake and Proctorville on the banks of the Ohio River. While researching her life, I found the following articles, but I will leave it to my readers to determine whether they believe in her gift or now. Here is what I found, starting with the earliest documentation.

In 1847 Elizabeth Winn was born in Proctorville, Lawrence County, Ohio, but her family moved to Cabell County, [West] Virginia, around 1849.

Looking at the above map of  Lawrence County, you will see the distance between Huntington, WV, and Bradrick, Ohio, is directly across from each other, with only the Ohio River separating the two areas. Before bridges were built to access the two states, a ferry landed between Huntington, WV, and Bradrick, Ohio, on the Ohio River banks.

1850 Census shows Zachariah Blake, age 7, and six siblings living with his father Shelton, age 38, and mother Frances Blake, age 27, in Putnam County, [West] Virginia.

In 1860 Elizabeth Winn was 14 years old and living in Guyandotte, Cabell County, WV, with:

• Inda, age 57,
• George W. Winn, age 27,
• Robert Winn, age 24,
• Elizabeth Winn, age 21, and
• Parks Winn, age 1 year old.

Across the Ohio River, William Winn is living next door to Shelton Blake. Although Zachariah Blake is not listed in this household, this connects the Winn and Blake families, as Shelton was Zachariah Blake’s father.

So far, I haven’t been able to locate Zachariah in the 1860 census, but it looks like his mother was no longer living in the household, so where were she and Zachariah in 1860?

Recorded in Book 8, page 18, on 23 Mar 1863 in Lawrence County, Ohio, Elizabeth Winn married Zachariah Blake, who was serving in Company E of the 5th WV Infantry.

In researching the Civil War, I found that Zachariah’s company was stationed near Ceredo, WV, at the time of their marriage. He was born on 4 Nov. 1846 in Putnam County, WV, and at 16, he enlisted in Company E, 5th WV Infantry, in the Civil War.

Noting that Elizabeth and her family were living in Guyandotte, WV makes perfect sense on where they would meet, but no known history tells exactly how or how that meeting occurred. One of the newspaper articles stated that Elizabeth Winn was attending Marshall College right before their marriage. Still, I haven’t found any proof of documentation, so is this true? I can’t say for sure until further research.

Another interesting fact I found was that Zechariah’s father, Shelton Blake, also enlisted in the Civil War, serving in Company A, 188th Ohio Infantry. From the book, “Union Missionary Baptist Church Minutes 1843-1878,” transcribed by Janet Mayenchein, Shelton Blake joined the Union Baptist Church at Bradrick, Ohio, in 1871. He also served on the committee to oversee those members who weren’t living a Christian life, as was commanded by the church.

His wife? Ellen Blake also joined the same church and was baptized on 7 April 1877. In these minutes, I don’t see any of the Winn family as being members, so, in my opinion, when Zechariah and Elizabeth Winn Blake married, this could have created a big problem between the families with her being a ‘medium.’

After their marriage, according to the 1870 census, they lived in Bartramville in Lawrence County, and Zachariah’s occupation was listed as being a cooper. Living with them at that time was their one-year-old daughter Annie and Sarah Wilgus, aged 21, and her one-year-old daughter Sadie Wilgus. I don’t know the connection between Elizabeth and Sarah Wilgus when writing this article. This prompts additional research.

In the 1880 LawCo census, it shows that in their household were the following persons:

• Zachariah, age 33, occupations a farmer,
• Elizabeth age 31,
• Annie L., age 12,
• Ralph L., age 10,
• Sarah A., age 6,
• Benjamin, age 3, [was born in Missouri] 
• Abraham W. age one year, born in Ohio.

Next door to Elizabeth and Zacharias was Zechariah’s father, Shelton Blake, age 68, and his wife Ellen, age 30, and their family. Three houses down from Zechariah and Elizabeth were William G. Smith, who owned a grocery store, and it also served as the post office for a while.

That building still stands today at the top of Bradrick Hill. Browning Road is directly on the right of William G. Smith’s store, where Zachariah Blake is buried in Low Gap Cemetery after his death on 22 Sept. 1919.

Elizabeth Blake’s death certificate states she is buried in the Brammer Cemetery. I don’t know why Elizabeth wasn’t buried beside her husband. Also, it is perplexing why Elizabeth Blake doesn’t even have a headstone or marker that determines where she is laid to rest.

This brings me to another surprise in my own personal research. I built my first home in Bradrick, Ohio, off Browning Road in 1987 and raised my children there until I sold it to my niece and her family, who still resides there today. My children have fond memories of walking to the old William G. Smith grocery store [it was called the ‘Bradrick mini-mart to the locals] to buy candy and soda pop.

Moving back to my story, I found on several different websites, Elizabeth Blake was a sincere Christian who was a member and practiced her faith in the Methodist Church.

According to those websites, when she could no longer hide her spiritual gift of being called a ‘medium,’ she was expelled from her beloved church. I have not found any solid documentation to verify this story, but I will continue to search for proof and will add those sources if and when I confirm the story.

In October 1897, I found a record that when Zechariah’s father, Shelton Blake, died, he was listed as an indigent soldier to the Lawrence County, Ohio, Board of Commissioners from Union Township. The record states that he died on 10 Sept. 1897, and the family could not pay for his burial expenses.

Shelton Blake was a Corporal in Company A, 188th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged. The County buried him in Bradrick, Low Gap Cemetery, Union Township, Lawrence county, Ohio. You can find this document on Briggs Library’s website.

The 1900 census is important in my research as it showed how many children Elizabeth had and how many still lived. It also shows that Elizabeth was born in July 1847 and Zachariah was born in Nov. 1844 and that they were married for 37 years and had 15 children, but only four were living.

An important fact from a story in the Ironton Register from 7 June 1900 is about Abraham Blake, age 21, who died from shooting himself in Coryville, Ohio. This must be one of Elizabeth and Zachariah’s sons. I wonder if Abraham had any living children. This will lead to yet, more research at a later day.

Living next door to the couple was one of their surviving children, Benjamin, aged 23, with his wife, Queen V. Blake, who had just been married one year and had no children. Three doors down from Elizabeth and Zachariah Blake was another son, Ralph L., and his wife, Carrie E., of eight years. It tells us that they had one child, but that child died.

The 1910 census shows Zachariah Blake, age 64, wife, Elizabeth Blake, living on Ohio River Pike in Union Township, Lawrence County, Ohio. They now own their home free of mortgage, and Zachariah is illiterate, but Elizabeth can read and write. It also tells us that they were married for 47 years and had 15 children. Four children were still living.

There isn’t anyone else living in the home except for Mr. and Mrs. Blake. We see two different homes with their two sons about ten houses down from Elizabeth and Zachariah. Benjamin B. and Queen V. Blake live alone in one home without any children. Ralph L. and Carrie E. Blake live a couple of houses down from the other Blake brother without any children.

By the 1920 census, Elizabeth Blake was a widow, and her grandson, Rex Lewis, aged 24 and divorced, was living with her. They lived on Ohio River Road, the same place ten years ago. Also, this census gives occupation to Elizabeth as a Spiritualist Medianero.

Right next door is her son Ralph L. and Carrie E. Lewis, the only occupants in their household. Ralph is working as a core maker in the foundry. I assume it is either the Railroad Company or the Ensign Manufacturing Company in Huntington, WV. Later on, in 1920, Elizabeth Blake died, the same year she was listed in the 1920 census.

According to her newspaper obituary, [see below] her ‘gift’ soon became so popular that some 200,000 persons attended her seances throughout her lifetime.

Her unique style was using a 2-foot-long trumpet in which Mrs. Blake would place the small end to the sitter, and the larger end would be used by Mrs. Blake, who would go into a trance, and the ‘spirit’ would completely take over her voice to relay the message to the sitter.

In 1906, two experts were determined to ‘prove’ that Elizabeth Blake was a fraud. David P. Abbott and E. A. Parsons tried to discredit her voice by watching while she covered the small end of the trumpet with her palm during her sessions.

The voices became so loud that her whispers became loud enough for them to hear her voice 100 feet away. After witnessing this and other experiences for themselves, both Parsons and Abbott endorse it.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous British author best known for creating the character Sherlock Holmes, was quoted as saying that Mrs. Blake was one of the most gifted voice mediums ever known at that time.

A lot is written about Mrs. Blake, and with my research mostly completed, the rest of this page will be transcribed from archives of sources I have noted below.

If you have anything to add to my story, please leave your comment below with your sources cited, and with your permission, I will be happy to add your information, giving you recognition. – Martha J. Martin

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The Sabetha Republican-Herald, Sabetha, Kansas 14 Mar 1907, Thu • Page 3
George Clawson on Spiritualism.

Sabetha is again personally interested in one of the most remarkable modern psychological events. Dr. Isaac K. Funk is the senior member of the great book publishing firm of Funk & Wagnalls of New York, who has degrees of both Doctor of Divinity and Doctor of Laws, and who was editor in chief of the great Standard dictionary, has written a book entitled the “The Psychic Riddle.”

The author looks at the psychic or spiritualistic phenomena with scientific eyes as far as science will carry him. When he reaches the snag in which Sabetha’s personal interest occurs, he says he has no explanation for the circumstances. Dr. Funk is a member of the Psychic Research Society of America, of which George W. Clawson, a former Nemaha county man, is also a member.

Mr. Clawson married a former Sabetha girl, Miss Nita Marquis. The two children mentioned in the article below are their children. Miss Marquis’ mother was a widow who built the home now occupied by Mrs. Mary Cotton. This house and the house occupied by Mr. Holtzschue were built exactly by Mrs. Marquis and Mr. Shephard. The houses would not be recognized by the original owners now.

They were built several feet above the ground with a basement dining room and kitchen and many steep stone steps to the front entrance. Mr. Cotton bought his place directly from Mrs. Marquis, although she had left Sabetha sometime before. She took boarders in the house, which Mr. McGuire and Judge R. C. Bassett later occupied.

From Sabetba, Mrs. Marquis moved to Seneca, where later, her daughter Nita married Mr. Clawson. Mr. Clawson was a lawyer, the partner of the late Simon Conwell of Seneca. He is still enrolled at the Nemaha county bar. He was also a banker. He once owned a bank in Alexandra, north of Sabetha in Nebraska. George Hook of Sabetha was his bookkeeper there. It is doubtless his Nebraska home and friends there, which he mentions below.

In Dr. Funk’s book, he gives among the most mysterious things in his experience the doings of Mrs. Blake of Braderick [sic] Ohio, who has been a wonder to her friends for fifty years.

The account, as given by Dr. Funk, was written by David Abbott of Nebraska, who, with Mr. Clawson and Professor Hyslop, another noted scientist, visited Mrs. Blake last September. The Kansas City Star Sunday had a four-column account of this visit. Mrs. Blake is old and feeble, the wife of a humble farmer and the mother of fifteen children.

Mr. Abbott knew but one man in Brakerick and be was a bare acquaintance. The three men, familiar with the processes and trickery resorted to by spiritualists, mentioned to no one who they were, where they were going, or their names.

Mr. Clawson traveled and registered at the hotel under the assumed name of C. E. Wilson. Mrs. Blake’s tests were performed in broad daylight, some at her home, and the most interesting, in the office of Mr. Abbott’s one acquaintance in Braderick [sic]. Mr. X, as this acquaintance is termed, did not know the men were coming. He had never heard of Mr. Clawson nor seen him before this visit and had been introduced to him under the assumed name of Wilson.

Mr. Clawson gave the following interview upholding Mr. Abbott’s account of the visit as incorporated in Dr. Funk’s great book.

“I am not a Spiritualist in the ordinary acceptation of that term. I have been a member of the Psychic Research Society of London for many years and have devoted considerable time to studying and investigating psychic subjects.

“As a result of my experience and study in such matters, up to the time I met Mrs. Blake, I had never seen a case of psychical phenomena which I had not been able to explain to my own satisfaction on the ground of trickery or fraud.

“I wish it distinctly understood that I believed then, and six months’ thought has added to my conviction that she was honest and that she couldn’t concoct or take part in any fraudulent transaction of any character, much less in one of so serious a nature as the investigation in which we were engaged.

“The physical part of the phenomena produced was like producing voices, which could articulate distinctly and carry on a conversation of an intelligent character. To condense these voices and make them stronger and louder, she used an ordinary tin aluminum horn, or rather two of them about eighteen inches in length, with the bull end of the horns dovetailed together, leaving the small end of the horn a convenient site for placing to our ears so that we might hear more distinctly.

“In all these settings, we used horns that we furnished. These voices were often produced so loudly and distinctly that we could hear them throughout the room without the aid of the horn.

“At one sitting, Mr. Abbott’s father-in-law. Mr. Miller, who died a year or two before, was supposed to be present and communicating with Mr. Abbott. I listened to this conversation, and although the horn at that time was at least four feet from me, Mr. Miller was making a statement concerning a departed friend of Mr. Abbott’s presence when he was communicating.

“The name of this friend, Mr. Abbott, was having difficulty understanding. I broke Into the conversation and remarked to Mr. Abbott that I thought Mr. Miller was trying to tell him that Mrs. Miller was present.

He added that George Clawson immediately came back to me very distinctly and said: ‘Why, George, she is not over on this side; she Is living up In Nebraska.’ In another case, Mr. Daily, Mr. Abbott’s grandfather on his mother’s side, was supposed to be present and communicate with Mr. Abbott.

“Grandpa Daily had been dead for many years, he knew me as a boy in his lifetime, and I lived on the neighboring farm with him. In this conversation, he referred to Mr. Abbott in very endearing terms as ‘Davie’ the same as he did when alive, and asked why he did not bring his sister Alda with him, as he would like to visit with her.

“Mr. Abbott was having some difficulty getting plain communications from the old gentleman when he broke in and said, ‘let George try,’ meaning me. ‘I can understand him better. He speaks more distinctly.’

“I, therefore, took the horn and said, ‘Grandpa Daily, how did you know my name was George?’ Up to this time, I had been introduced to the medium, also to her physician, Dr. G., as Mr. Wilson, and was even then stopping at Dr. G’s house and eating at his family table under the assumed name of Wilson.

“He came right back at me in a very distinct tone. ‘Why, I know who you are. You are George Clawson.’ This is the first time that my correct name has been made known to those present outside of Mr. Abbott and Professor Hyslop.

“About four years ago, my daughter Georgia passed away after a lingering sickness. I was living at that time in St. Louis, and we had, just before my daughter’s death, been preparing for her wedding to a schoolmate friend of hers. She appeared to me in each sitting I had with Mrs. Blake, and we carried on as rational a conversation as if she had been present in the flesh.

“When living, she had always called me daddy, and she had always called her mother ‘muz.’ At the first meeting, she said, ‘Daddy, I am here and want to talk with you. I am so glad you came to visit me. Why didn’t you bring muz?’

“I had recently, before this time, moved back from St. Louis to Kansas City, and to test the accuracy of the information which I was receiving, and if possible to mislead the medium, if it were she that was communicating, I said ‘Georgia, do you know we have moved back to St. Joe?’ We had at one time resided in that city.

“She came right back at me with the remark, ‘Daddy, you know you can’t fool me. You are living in Kansas City again.’ As a test, I asked her several questions about where she had gone to school and who were some of her intimate schoolmate friends and companions, to which she accurately replied.

“I asked her if she knew where “Ark’ was, that is the name of the young man to whom she was engaged. She replied, ‘Yes, of course I do.’ I asked her to give me his name in full, and she pronounced the very difficult name of ‘Archimedes.’

“It was at the last meeting just before my departure and at the same meeting that I referred to before in the conversation between the governor and the Judge that the medium kept saying that there was the spirit of a young boy who wished to talk with his papa, and he became so insistent breaking in on the conversations, that I asked Mr. Abbott to find out what he wanted. He said, ‘I want to talk to my papa. You are not my papa.’

“Many years ago, I had buried an only son who had lived but a few hours, and as soon as I took the horn, he said: ‘You are my papa you are the one I want to talk to. Sister told me to break right into the conversation.’ He said, ‘I have been getting along fine since she came over here,’ I said, ‘Son. what is your name?’ He said, ‘Papa you never gave me any name,’ which is true.

‘My daughter said to me Just before I left, ‘Daddy will you do me a favor?’ She said, ‘Ark is going to get married to a black-eyed, black-haired girl.’ She said, ‘I want you to tell him that it is alright with me, that I do not feel bad about it like you think I would. Conditions here are so different.’

“I did not know at that time of Mr. A.’s intended marriage, but about a week after I returned to Kansas City from Huntington, I received a letter from Mr. A., who was then in New York, saying, ‘Daddy, I wrote you about a month ago,’ which would mean at least two weeks before the conversation with my daughter referred to above, ‘telling you of my approaching marriage to a little dark-eyed, dark-haired girl, and was wondering why you did not answer my letter when to-day, in looking through a suit of clothes which I was giving away, I found in the pocket the letter, which I had forgotten to mail, giving you that information.'”

Mr. Clawson said in conclusion: “I cannot explain this mystery, and I leave the theory as to the cause of the phenomena to the reader to supply as may best suit his judgment on this subject.”

Mrs. L. A. Corwin recently visited the Clawson home on Ninth Street and Baltimore avenue in Kansas City. It is said to be one of the most handsome homes in Kansas City. The entire house is finished in mahogany. Mrs. Clawson recalls her childhood in Sabetha with great affection.

She said she would not realize that the little spindling trees planted during her childhood in Sabetha park had finally grown into big trees. Mrs. Clawson will visit Mrs. L. A. Corwin in Goffs this summer when they drive to Sabetha to spend a few days with Mrs. A. D. Hook.

Mr. Clawson has made and lost two fortunes daring his eventful and interesting career, and his money is now said to be tied up safely in government bonds. He is currently the President of the Clawson Strean Brokerage in Kansas City. George Hook says that Mr. Clawson is the most industrious and indefatigable worker he has ever known.

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Well Known Man Died in Coryville, Ohio

Semi-Weekly Register, 25 September 1919, Thursday.

At seven o’clock yesterday morning, Zechariah S. Blake, aged 75, a Civil war veteran and husband of Elizabeth Winn Blake, the spiritualist medium of Coryville, Ohio, passed away after being stricken with a stroke of paralysis more than a month ago.

Because of the national fame of his wife, whose spiritual powers many had faith in, and of his own personality, Mr. Blake was well-known in this section and well-liked by all who knew him.

He was born November 4, 1846, and served in the Civil war with the Union army at the age of sixteen years. In March 1863, he returned to this part of the county, met Miss Elizabeth Winn, who was attending Marshall college, and shortly after married her.

Soon after his marriage, Mr. Blake re-entered the army service and was captured by the Confederates, serving nine long months in the Andersonville, Ga., prison [under the name Sedwick Blake-mjm]. Then he escaped and went to Sherman’s army near Savannah, Ga.

Following the war, Mr. and Mrs. Blake moved to Coryville, where they have lived since. The home of Winn Blake is located in a Mecca for those interested in spiritual séances.

Although Mr. Blake has been ill in health since his service with the Union army, he has always taken an active interest in the civil and military welfare of the country. He took a very active interest in the campaign of the A. E. F. in France during the recent war and followed every move the Americans over there made.

Three of the fifteen children born to Mr. and Mrs. Blake survive Ralph L. Blake, of Coryville; Mrs. B. B. Davis, of Huntington; Mrs. C. E. Still, of 2428 Collis Avenue, Huntington.

Four brothers and two sisters of Mr. Blake also survive Willard Blake, M. I. Blake, Anzelle Blake, and Louis Blake, all of Proctorville, Mrs. Edward Strickard of Cincinnati, and Mrs. Nellie Staley of Chesapeake, Ohio.

There are also seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren surviving. Mr. Blake was a member of the Coryville Baptist church.

The funeral services were held this morning at ten o’clock from the residence, and the burial was made at the Bradrick cemetery.

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Mrs. Blake, Famous Medium, Passes Into Spirit World
Death Follows Serious Illness of Three Weeks with Pneumonia; Fame as Spiritualist Attracted Wealthy and Poor from all over Country

The spirit passed from the body of Mrs. Elizabeth Blake, the spirit medium of Coryville, Ohio, and a nationally famous woman, at 5:20 o’clock Saturday evening.

“Do not cry,” she told members of the family gathered around her bedside, “I shall be with each and everyone even more than I could although I were living for the flesh.

“They told me and described it, but, oh, how wonderful and how beautiful it all it. Oh, I’m going to papa. I’m so happy. I’m so glad, too.”

With these words, Mrs. Blake sank into a sleep, dying soon afterward. She had been ill since the 18th of March, and an attack of influenza brought on pneumonia. She was also troubled with a nervous affliction that was first noticed two years ago.

The funeral will take place Monday morning at 11 o’clock at home, while the body will be laid to rest in the Brammer cemetery, Bradrick, by the side of the grave of her husband, Zachariah Blake, who died September 22, last. Rev. Benedict, Coryville M.E. church, will preach the funeral sermon.

[Zachariah Blake’s veteran headstone is located at Low Gap cemetery in Bradrick, Ohio. Also, his death certificate states that he is also buried in Low Gap.-mjm]

According to a relative Saturday night, Mrs. Blake requested the funeral services of the Spiritualist church, but other relatives objected.

Although she had never traveled extensively, Mrs. Blake was perhaps the most widely known resident of this section of the country. Her fame as a medium was more national than local, and scientists, rich men and women, and those in more humble circumstances have visited her from all parts of the United States.

She had the reputation of treating all impartially and of refusing appeals for seances in every case that she did not believe to be worthy. Her mail was bulky with urgent requests from people in distant cities asking for engagements. Thousands of persons have visited the little frame cottage on the banks of the Ohio River in Coryville.

Mrs. Blake was born on a farm in the back of Proctorville on July 23, 1847.

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Dies, Is Revived, But Death Now Expected Soon
Such is Experience Attributed to Mrs. Blake, Corryville, Ohio; “Talks” With Husband

The Sandusky Register, Sandusky, Ohio 9 Apr 1920, Friday • Page 1

Ironton, Ohio, April 9 – Details of the “death” and “resurrection” of Mrs. Elizabeth Blake, Coryville, spiritualist, rival fiction.
Mrs. Blake apparently died yesterday morning but revived a few hours later. This evening she was alive, but her death was expected.

According to friends and relatives of Mrs. Blake, who is 62, she had been talking for several hours prior to her “death” with her husband, Zachariah Blake, who died last September, begging to take her into the land of spirits, that she might be with him. At 10:30, she was pronounced dead, and an announcement of the death was sent to newspapers, friends, and relatives.

Mrs. J. E. Miller, of Huntington, WV, one of the first to reach the house after the news of the death had been sent out, was met by Rex Davis, a grandson, who informed her that Mrs. Blake “had just come back to life.” Mrs. Miller said she found Mrs. Blake talking to her husband, reproving him for letting her leave the “spirit world.”

Talked With Spirits

Apparently conscious, she talked also with the spirits of her 11 children, who have been dead for years. She spoke of the “pretty flowers” she had seen in the spirit land and referred to her husband as “just like marble, and oh, so pretty.” “I don’t see why you allowed me to come back here; there’s nothing here,” she said.

Some of West Virginia’s most noted residents, including at least one governor, visited Mrs. Blake’s cottage during her 50 years of experience as a medium at Coryville, a suburb of Ironton. Many attempts have been made to expose her, but these generally resulted in more converts.

[note from mjm- there are two Coryville’s in Lawrence County, Ohio. The difference is the spelling i.e., one is Corryville, and the other is Coryville. The Coryville spelling is between Proctorville and Chesapeake. The other Corryville spelling is north of Ironton, off State Route 93, near Sacred Heart Cemetery. If I am wrong, please correct me in the comments below-Martha]

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NOTED MEDIUM BELIEVED DEAD, RETURNS TO LIFE

Dayton Daily News, Dayton, Ohio, 11 Apr 1920, Sun • Page 32

HUNTINGTON, WV, April 10 – Mrs. Elizabeth Blake, noted medium of Coryville, Ohio, died at 5:30 p. m. today, it was announced at home tonight.

She was reported dead last Wednesday, and relatives were summoned, but later in the day, she revived and talked of being with her dead husband and eleven children who have long been dead.

Mrs. Blake was 72 years old. She had been in a slate coma for several days but, at times, appeared to talk as though to her husband. She called him ‘Pappy.’

She was born in Proctorville, Ohio, and spent all her life in sight of the “Little House Across the River,” which Huntington [West Virginia] people called her home. People have come from all parts of the country to consult Mrs. Blake, and letters have been received from as far as Italy.

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MEDIUM DIES AGAIN

Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, The Evening News, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 12 Apr 1920, Mon • Page 5

Ironton, Ohio – April 12 – Mrs. Elizabeth Blake, noted medium, who last Wednesday was pronounced dead, but a few hours later startled friends by returning to life, died again Saturday night, according to an announcement from her physician.

“She will come back,” was the comment made by scores. But for 24 hours, there has been no sign of any return to consciousness, and last, Rex Davis, a grandson, and disciple of the spiritualist cult, expressed the belief that Mrs. Blake had passed over.

He announced that he intended to take up her work and follow in her footsteps. He said he had communicated recently with Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Theodore Roosevelt, and other great men of the past.

After Mrs. Blake, who was 72 years old, seemingly died and then came back to consciousness, she told friends she had been with her husband, Zachariah Blake, and her 11 children, all dead.

Rev. William Way of the First Spiritualist Church, Wheeling, WV, was one of the last mediums to visit Mrs. Blake before she died. He developed his reputed power under her teaching.

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Mrs. Elizabeth Winn Blake’s Obituary
Ironton Newspaper 13 April 1920

The wife of Zachary Blake died at Coryville of pneumonia at age 73. She was born in Proctorville, Ohio, in 1847, and at the age of 2, she moved with her family to Cabell County, WV, where she remained until 1879 when she married Zachary Blake.

They lived in Bradrick. He died in the early winter. She was well known for her psychic powers. For almost 60 years, she gave seances to the public. An estimated 200,000 people attended these sittings. – See also Semi-Weekly Republican April 15 and April 19, 1920

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SPIRIT INHERITED BY MRS. HARRIS

Greenbrier Independent, Lewisburg, West Virginia 23 Apr 1920, Fri • Page 1

Mrs. Dora Cochran Harris, of this city, has had conferred upon her the spiritualistic powers possessed by the late Mrs. Elizabeth Blake, noted medium of the Ohio Valley, whose death occurred a week or ten days ago, according to information which local friends have received from Mrs. Harris, who has been in the Cabell County, WV capital for a short time, and who was there at the time of Mrs. Blake’s death.

A manifestation is said to have taken place at a seance held there last week at which the astral form of Mrs. Blake was materialized, and an important message was received.

Mrs. Harris is said to have recently moved to this city from Kansas and is a daughter of the late Judge F. P. Cochran of Cottonwood Falls, that state. She is said to be a medium of spiritualistic communication through controlled writing, by which messages are received by what purports to be the handwriting of the deceased.

In telling of the manifestation and the messages received from Mrs. Blake during the seance held last week. Mrs. Harris explained that she was making these things public, not to gain publicity, as she does not give public seances, but in order that the friends of Mrs. Blake might receive the word. – Charleston Gazette.