W. P. Phelon
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ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Dr. W. P. Phelon (September 28, 1834 - December 29, 1904) was an English-American occultist associated with the Ramayana Theosophical Society of Chicago and of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor. He founded the Hermetic Brotherhood of Atlantis, Luxor and Elephanta.
Personal life and career
William Pike Phelon was born September 28, 1834 in England to Benjamin and Sarah Phelon. His father was a clergyman. The family, including a brother Benjamin, emigrated to the United States and by 1850 was settled in Rhode Island. William married Ruth Lamira Morse, known as Mira or Myra, who was born in Vermont on April 1, 1831. She was the niece of Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph.[1]
The early 1860s found the couple living in Dorr, Illinois, with William working as a printer for a time. In 1862, during the Civil War, Phelon served in a medical role in the 95th lllinois Infantry, but was discharged with a disability.[2][3] In the early 1870s, William and Mira Phelon were employed as school teachers in La Porte, Indiana. In 1874 they moved to Chicago.[4][5] He became established as a physician in the central business district of that city.[6] After his wife Mira died on February 23, 1896 in Chicago, Dr. Phelon moved to San Francisco.[7][8]
He died in San Francisco on December 29, 1904, and his role as head of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Atlantis, Luxor and Elephanta was prominently featured in his obituary.
Theosophical Society involvement
Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor
Dr. Phelon and his wife Mira Morse Phelon were editors of a periodical, The Hermetist, published 1887-1899 in Chicago.
Writings
- The Future Rulers of America: A Physician's Adventure. 1887.
- Three Sevens: A Story of Ancient Initiations. Wth Mira M. Phelon. 1889.
- A Witch of the Nineteenth Century. Chicago: Hermetic Publishing Co., 1893.
- Our Story of Atlantis: Written Down for the Hermetic Brotherhood. San Francisco, Calif.: Hermetic Book Concern, 1903.
Notes
- ↑ "No Mourning or Words of Sorrow" New York Times February 26, 1896. Reproduced in Find A Grave Memorial 106902964.
- ↑ U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865.
- ↑ U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865.
- ↑ 1870 United States Federal Census.
- ↑ "Rogers Park Items" Daily Inter Ocean [Chicago] 3.172 (September 13, 1874), 8.
- ↑ U.S. City Directories, 1922-1995 for the years 1875-1877, 1882, 1888, 1890.
- ↑ "No Mourning or Words of Sorrow" New York Times February 26, 1896. Reproduced in Find A Grave Memorial 106902964.
- ↑ 1900 U.S. United States Federal Census.