Spiritualists will convene in Newark
By Donna Comella

It's been 150 years since the Fox Sisters claimed they could communicate with the dead. It was March 31, 1848 that Margaret and Kate said a series of "intelligible rappings" were heard in their Hydesville home. From then, Hydesville has been known as "The Birthplace of Modern Spiritualism."

The rappings followed the two young girls to Rochester and soon, a growing number of Spiritualists sprang up, not only here in New York, but all over the country and in Europe.

To mark the 150th anniversary of the rappings, Spiritualists from around the world will hold a convention here in Newark this weekend. Plans include a banquet and five featured speakers, including Arcadia Historian Bob Hoeltzel. The weekend will conclude with "a pilgrimage to the Fox property for a blessing of gratitude."

And the property itself has been the focus of a more recent mystery: Who owns it?

On February 23, Janice and Roland Strassburger filed an Executor's Deed in the County Clerk's office - as per the Last Will and Testament of John Drummond. However, there is no record that Drummond, who died in 1990, ever had title to the property.

Drummond had cared for the property, but the last deed recorded in the County Clerk's office was filed February 8, 1955. That document transferred title of the property from The Fox Memorial Society to The Ministry of Spiritual and Divine Science.

Arcadia Assessor Larry Quinn says that what appears to have happened over the years is just a shuffling of who gets the tax bills - not who actually owns the property. Many tax bills and several assessors later, everyone just assumed that Drummond had owned the property.

Quinn said he expects a visit from the Spiritualists when they arrive in town for the convention. It will then fall to them to pay the taxes or file for tax-exempt status as a religious corporation. The Strassburgers, who have paid the taxes since 1990, could not be reached for comment.

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