HORACE GREELEY
Horace Greeley was a leading American editor whose paper, The New York Tribune, was considered the most influential newspaper of the mid nineteenth century. Greeley is well known for his recommendation to ambitious American youth: "Go West, young man." Known to favor political reform and anti-slavery legislation, it is not a surprise that Spiritualism came to his attention, as many advocates of abolition and women's rights were using that new movement as a vehicle of political expression. In his newspaper, Greeley expressed careful neutrality regarding the validity of spirit-rapping, but in private, he sought an audience with Kate Fox. The loss of his son to typhoid and the death of a close friend, the writer Margaret Fuller, in a shipwreck at sea drove him to seek solace in this strange communication with the dead.
Horace Greeley remained a true friend to the Fox Sisters throughout their lives. As recounted in High Spirits, he hosted Kate in his home while she attended a private school and gave advice to Leah on her seance business when she stayed in New York City. He defended the privacy of Maggie and Elisha when newspapers across the country were prying into their alleged engagement, writing in his editorial: "Whether they have been, are, may be, are not, or will not be 'engaged' can be nobody's business but their own." Years later, when both Maggie and Kate had succumbed to alcoholism, Greeley made great efforts to get them into the care of relatives and friends who would support them and guide them back to health.
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