Mother Leafy Anderson (1887–1927) was an American spiritualist, who was born in Wisconsin in the 19th century.[1] She was a Spiritualist who claimed her mediumship included contact with the spirit of the Native American war chief Black Hawk, who had lived in Illinois and Wisconsin, Anderson's home state.[1][2]
Some reports say Anderson was born in Balboa, Wisconsin in 1887. Records vary as to her marital status.[3]
In 1913, Anderson founded the Eternal Life Spiritualist Church in Chicago. In 1919, she moved to New Orleans. Some believe that she also established churches in St. Louis, New Jersey, and Indiana[3] Anderson was the founder of the Spiritual Church Movement in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1920s, a loose confederation of churches largely based in the African American community.[1][2] The church she founded in New Orleans featured traditional "Spirit Guides" in worship services, with a mixture of Protestant and Catholic Christian iconography,[2] as well as special services and hymns intended to honor the spirit of the Sauk leader Black Hawk.[1] Eleven congregations grew out of the original church, with locations in Memphis, Little Rock, and Pensacola.[3]
After Anderson's death, her successor, Mother Catherine Seals, then led the church, The Temple of the Innocent Blood, until her death, at which point it fractured,[1] giving rise to a multiplicity of Spiritualist denominations in New Orleans and elsewhere.
These denominations, along with a number of similar but independent Spiritualist churches across America, are known today as the "Spiritual Church Movement."[2]
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