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| John Quincy Adams |
The notebooks Stiles created to act as a foundation for his book are in the Library of Congress.
John Benedict Buescher looked into the notebooks. Fortunately, Mr. Buescher made his findings public in a published report. This report includes a short bio of Mr. Stiles. It states that Mr. Stiles interned as a publisher and worked as a proofreader and critic.
Stiles was 13 years old when John Quincy Adams ended his term as president. Mr. Adams returned to Boston when he was serving in the House of Representatives. A procession was held in Mr. Adams' honor for his anti-slavery efforts in the House. The procession ended at the Universalist Church where Mr. Stiles was a member.
Mr. Stiles, as a medium, claimed to have made contact with John Quincy Adams' spirit. From that time, Stiles began producing "messages" from the spirit of John Quincy Adams! Stiles automatically wrote in notebooks. These were the documents Buescher brought together.
Whether you believe in medium communication or not, Stiles has gained attention over the years. His book, Twelve Messages From the Spirit of John Quincy Adams, had both positive and negative reviews.
One item I came to find, was John Quincy Adams views on slavery. Did his views really need fortified? Most likely not. But when brought to our time, we find Quincy's anti-slavery foundation was a bedrock for the Abolitionist movement of the 1850's. This, I feel, is an important historical footnote.
Stiles was a far-fetched spiritualist with radical spiritual notions and it's difficult to get our arms around his teachings. I commend the boston75 blog for posting this story. For me, it's interesting and part of the Boston area history. Make your own judgments and keep an open mind. I did.