Julia Keightley

Julia Keightley

Julia Wharton Lewis Campbell Ver Planck was an American Theosophist, lecturer, and writer, who married Dr. Archibald Keightley. The Keightleys were active in the Theosophical Society in America, later renamed Theosophical Society, which was headed by Ernest Temple Hargrove in New York. She is best known for her writings under the pseudonym Jasper Niemand.

Early life

Julia Wharton Lewis Campbell was born in 1851 into a distinguished Philadelphia family as the daughter of Judge James. W. Campbell (1820-1895). Her parents were distinguished in Pennsylvania society:

[Judge Campbell] commanded a regiment during the Civil War, served as member of the U. S. Congress for several terms, and held two diplomatic commissions under President Lincoln, as Minister to Sweden and Norway, and later at Bogatá, Colombia. Her mother was Juliet Lewis, daughter of Chief Justice Ellis Lewis of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, a writer of verse possessing great poetic charm and value."

The family lived in rural Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Julia had three brothers, two of whom died in 1864. She and her parents spent several years in Europe.

She married Philip William Ver Planck on December 21, 1871 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died at the age of 32 on December 15, 1976, in Colorado. They had two sons who died very young - James Campbell Ver Planck (1872-1875) and Gordon Ver Planck (1874-1875). The shock of these three deaths led Julia into a long and difficult illness. During her long recovery, she wrote two plays.

Involvement with Theosophical Society

While she was living in New York City following the deaths of her first husband and sons, Mrs. Ver Planck became aware of the Theosophical Society.

One day, while lunching with her close friend, Mrs. Anna Lynch Botta, the name of Madame Blavatsky was mentioned, though she was spoken of as an exposed fraud. Mrs. Botta invited her to hear Arthur Gebhard speak on Theosophy at the home of a friend of hers. The impression produced upon Julia Ver Planck was so deep that she joined the Theosophical Society within two weeks, and started upon her Theosophical career.

She joined the Aryan Lodge (in New York City) on May 27, 1886. Her membership in the Adyar-based Society ended on April 28, 1895 when most American lodges withdrew and formed their own American organization.

Encounter with a Mahatma

After Mme. Blavatsky died, Mrs. Ver Planck had the following experience:

A few days after Madame Blavatsky died, HPB awoke me at night. I raised myself, feeling no surprise, but only the sweet accustomed pleasure. She held my eyes with her leonine gaze. Then she grew thinner, taller, her shape became masculine; slowly then her features changed, until a man of height and rugged powers stood before me, the last vestige of her features melting into his, until the leonine gaze, the progressed radiance of her glance alone remained. The man lifted his head and said, "Bear witness!" He then walked from the room, laying his hand on the portrait of HPB as he passed. Since then, he has come to me several times, with instructions, in broad daylight while I was busily working, and once he stepped out from a large portrait of HPB.

Writing

Boris de Zirkoff wrote that Mrs. Keightley "felt an intense desire to help others by means of her writing."

Pseudonyms

Mrs. Keightley wrote extensively under the pseudonym Jasper Niemand. Jasper means "master of the treasure" and Niemand is German for "nobody."

As a teenager she had previously used the nom-de-plume of "Espérance," meaning hope or promise.

Early writings

As a teenager Julia Campbell began her writing career:

Her early writings consisted of translations from the poems written by the Kings of Sweden, and of original verse, tales and descriptions published in Harper's Magazine, the Galaxy, and other periodicals, both under her own name and the nom-de-plume of "Espérance." The full market rates paid to her for these writings are evidence that their fine quality was recognized by the Editors of the day."

While recovering from the deaths of her first husband and sons, she wrote "her two successful plays, The Puritan Maid and Sealed Instructions, the latter of which having had a marked success during two seasons at the Madison Square Theatre in New York, as well as in other parts of the country."

Theosophical writings

As Jasper Niemand, Mrs. Keightley wrote numerous articles for Theosophical periodicals, including The Path, The Lamp, Lucifer, Theosophia, and Theosophical Quarterly. Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals lists at least 140 articles under that pseudonym.

• Letters That Have Helped Me. Mrs. Ver Planck compiled this volume as an exchange of letters between "Jasper Niemand" and William Quan Judge, who signed his as "Z."

• Sealed Instructions: An Original Comedy-drama in Four Acts, 1885. This play was performed at the Madison Square Theatre, according to Wikipedia. Credited to Mrs. Julia Campbell Ver Planck.
• The Wonder-Light and Other Tales. True Philosophy for Children London: Theosophical Publishing Company, 1890. Author Mrs. J. Campbell Ver-Planck. Dedication: "To the Lion Heart now known as Helena Petronovna Blavatsky this little book is offered by the author."
• The Vow of Poverty and Other Essays: And Other Essays, 1904.
• The Unity of Religions, 1908.
• The Sleeping Spheres, 1893-1899. This pamphlet about after-death states has a complex publishing history, but was first printed as a whole in 1953 by the The Canadian Theosophist. Available at spheres.pdf EasternTradition.org.

Other resources

• Autograph Letters Signed from Julia Wharton Lewis Campbell Ver Planck Keightley to Augustin Daly was published in 1885.
• Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C. has autograph letters from Mrs. Ver Planck to William Winter and Augustin Daly. Both concern her plays.