10/27/43 Mrs. [
3299]'s letter to EC:
Dear Mr. Cayce,
At long last my reading came. I didn't attempt to answer
it at once. I wanted a few days to reread it and think about
it, and now the time is come when I must acknowledge it.
If I am to be honest, and I know you would want that, I can
only say that I was disappointed. It was all so brief! It
left so much unsaid. I don't know what I actually expected,
but from constant rereading of the folder on Life Readings
and those parts of Sugrue's book, I guess I must have
expected something very much more detailed. The reading did
not answer any of the multitude of questions about myself
that I have asked myself over and over and some of which I
hoped would be revealed.
I hate to say it and hurt you, because you mean so much to
me, but I feel further from God than I have felt for a long
time. Perhaps because ever since I read There Is a River
and learned about you, I have lived in a peculiar state of
exaltation and of waiting. I felt that this was His way of
answering some of my questions and, now I feel so let down.
If you will take the time with me (drat that Coronet article
which has set such a dizzy pace for you), I would like to go
into the reading a bit and perhaps you can help me. I had
expected to have difficulty interpreting the language and
expressions as used but I had very little trouble with this.
There is however one statement, viz: "Saturn also has its
day with the entity which usually occurs on Thursdays" and
further on it says: "In Saturn we find the sudden changes
that have come."
I do not know what these changes are. There have been no
changes in my life in 20 years. I live the most routine
existence one can imagine, so this I do not understand. Nor
can it mean changes in my desire for knowledge, for truth,
for finding the Way, because I have always been a seeker
after these. That is why learning about you meant so much
to me.
Outside of the Fort Dearborn episode, it doesn't give the
time nor the place so I have no opportunity to research as I
had planned and to incorporate my findings in the article I
wanted to write for the Bulletin. There have been lots of
Blackburns in the south ever since the American Revolution.
They represent some other branch of the name as my
grandfather was born in Ireland and when he came over here
he lived all his life in Canada and my father was his only
son to carry the name on.
In regard to the life of Abbie (or Aggie) Blackburn - this
much I have already learned. Fort Dearborn consisted of the
stockade and the few government buildings within it which you
have doubtless seen pictures of. There were a few traders
cabins nearby. I find no mention of an Inn, but logically
would say that some sort of hotel would be needed to take
care of the traders as they came down from Wisconsin with the
furs. I have written to the Chicago Historical Society in
the hope of discovering if there is any record of such an Inn
and who managed it.
The Cincinnati of 1812 at the time of the massacre at Fort
Dearborn, consisted of only 500 people. I am writing to the
Cincinnati Historical Society also. It is possible they may
have records of these early settlers, and I may find that
there are Blackburns in Cincinnati today with a great great
grandmother by the name of Abbie or Aggie Blackburn. This I
will try to find out and perhaps learn more of her life, and
the Bulletin may find this an interesting story.
But in the Spanish as mentioned in the reading, it would be
necessary to know the name of the King then reigning or the
dates, in order to study conditions in that period. In the
Holy land - again there is no indication of the time. The
expression "when the people were entering from Egypt" does
not mean anything to me. Again in the Egyptian, it does not
give the time, and as the Egyptians covered some thousands of
years, there is no hope of studying the right period without
more concise information.
There is also the matter of family names. The Spanish
Sophia, the Holy Land Helvetia (Helvetia is the feminine name
for Switzerland, as Britannia is for England), the Egyptian
Ex-en-ea - the family names of these women (and at least
Sophia had a family name) would be necessary to trace the
background. None of this was given.
I have always had such a passion for the outdoor life - and
the care of animals. So again I had hoped the reading would
give me a clue as to why, among all my family and friends, I
seem to be the only one with such a strong urge. Maybe it
goes back to the pioneer life of Abbie Blackburn.
Again I had hoped for some revealment as to those among my
family and friends and business associates now that I had
relations with before and what the relationship was. As in
the case of Diana in last month's Bulletin, it would have
helped so much to understand the whys and wherefores of our
relationship now.
I would have been more interested in more of the recent lives
where there is written history to look up. I wanted to know
if I had ever lived in England or Ireland. I have such a
strong feeling of familiarity with the countryside of Ireland
and the streets of London, yet I have never been there. I
had hoped the reading would tell something about this.
And then again, it seems that all the lives mentioned, show
me to have abilities of management, of authority, or
supervision over people, and so it would seem that in this
present life to carry these urges forward I should seek
employment that will give me that outlet. I seem to have the
urges of a dominant, forceful, active person, yet I am
instructed to write, to devote myself to solitude and the
retirement required of a successful writer. Frankly, it so
happens that I am both of these things - both active and
introspective. I had hoped the reading would reveal that I
had been a writer before. Now I am all at sea!
I am deeply sorry, Mr. Cayce. I wish I could be enthusiastic
and satisfied. God knows I wanted to be. You have no idea
what the prospect of this reading has meant to me for the
past four months, and how I prepared myself to be worthy of
it, but in truth the reading has revealed so little I'd like
to have a good cry on your kind shoulder (I guess I sound
like one of these middle aged "misunderstood" women who write
you their tales of woe - Heaven forbid).
What I really need is a check reading. I would like to make
up a list of questions and get direct answers to them such as
you do in checking physical readings. It seems to be the
only way I can get the help I need. And you have no time for
that in the near future. In your last letter you mentioned
that you hardly had time for check readings on the serious
physical cases - were it not for that I would ask you to do
this for me so that my mind may be at peace.
I feel better about it now, of course. I always bounce back
quickly, but last Saturday morning when the reading came, my
hands shook so much with excitement and anticipation I could
hardly open the envelope. I took a cigarette and went up
stairs to our directors room so I wouldn't be interrupted.
And I can never tell you how let down I felt when I finished.
All over the week end at home I was too full up to talk.
[
5105] asked a dozen times, "mother, what is the matter with
you, don't you feel well?"
By Monday I was beginning to come out of it, a mental
straightening of shoulders and forging ahead. Please do not
take all this too much to heart, Mr. Cayce. I am merely
letting off steam. If you think there are vital points in
the reading I have missed, things I have wrongly interpreted
or have not taken seriously enough, I would appreciate your
explanation. In the meantime, I send my love and my
blessing.
3/16/44 Mrs. [
3299]'s letter to EC:
Dear Mr. Cayce:
I was happy to get your letter [No copy of EC's letter is in
this file. It was used in
3352-1 Reports. GD]. Altho I
appreciate how swamped and overworked you and your staff have
been, it was hard not to feel neglected when there was no
comment or answer to my letters in connection with my own
Life Reading and Mr. [
3352]'s physical reading. However, I
still kept in my heart, a warm feeling for you and your great
work and did not let my personal disappointment spoil for me
the faith in your God-given ability.
It is true that I was much disappointed and actually
embarrassed over Mr. [
3352]'s reading. Knowing him so well
after 17 years of working for him, I could not see that the
reading in any way referred to him - quite the opposite in
fact. It was as though it was meant for someone else. Then
too, I felt that having sold him on the idea of spending
$20.00 for an hour's reading, during which length of time
some pertinent information would surely have come, the
reading lasted only fifteen minutes, and I thot perhaps the
fact that you were cramming several readings in the hour
instead of the usual one, might have been the reason for not
coming through as expected.
Mr. [
3352] was full of hope before and during the reading.
He sat quietly at his desk. I sat outside the room at mine.
We both held the silence for a full hour. I don't know, of
course, what skepticism might have crept into his mind during
the period, but I cannot feel that it was enough to spoil
the reading.
As for my reading, there was certainly no critical attitude
at any time. I had lived in a state of ardent anticipation
for several months before the reading, and from my state of
belief and faith, and hope, the reading should have been one
of your best. I doubt if many of your clients have ever felt
the glow of hope and thankfulness I had for weeks before that
reading as you will realize if you had time to refer to my
letters.
My biggest disappointment was in the fact that NONE of my
questions [I could not find her questions - perhaps they were
not at hand for the reading. GD] were asked or answered
during the reading. No questions were asked at all. As a
matter of fact, neither were Mr. [
3352]'s questions asked or
answered. It doesn't make sense to me to ask us to send
questions and then ignore them during the reading. If my
questions had been asked and you had answered, whatever the
answers were I would have been satisfied. It was quite a
struggle for me to get that $20.00 together (you'll never
know) and when I came to the end of my reading, I can never
describe to you how completely "let down" I felt. Imagine,
if you can, if your own readings told you suddenly "there is
no God" and then set out to prove it so you had to believe
it. That's how I felt. However, I still have not lost
belief in your ability. It was just one of those things and
the hurt has healed now.
I do not want any money refunded, either for my reading or
Mr. [
3352]'s. Some time ago I sent you $5.00 toward my
daughter's life reading which is, I believe, scheduled for
the afternoon of April 18th. My financial circumstances
since then have been such I have never had enough spare money
to pay the balance, so I think that you can do one of two
things. You may consider that $5.00 as a little token toward
the fund and release this April 18th appointment (that is,
if it has really been saved) to the many others who need it,
or you can keep the appointment for [
5105] which was for a
Life Reading, without further payment. You do whatever you
think best. That is all anyone can do.
I was full of enthusiasm about writing the article for the
Bulletin. It was my plan to do considerable research on my
past incarnations from the information given in the reading
and use this as the basis for a confirming article. However,
as I wrote you after the reading came, the only family name
mentioned in the incarnations was the last one before this
present life - an Abbie or Aggie Blackburn who was presumably
living at Ft. Dearborn, Chicago, at the time of the Indian
insurrection, but got out in time and went to what is now
Cincinnati Ohio and there raised a large family.
I could not trace the other "lives" because no family names
were given, and no dates or specific places, so there was
nothing to work with in researching. However, I did do a
great deal of tracing thru the libraries, the historical
societies of Chicago and Cincinnati and there is nothing on
record about a family named Blackburn at that time, in those
places. In fact, I am informed that there was no Inn until
many years after the massacre and then the name of the
Innkeeper was not Blackburn. This, of course, ruined my hope
of writing something revealing. Perhaps if you read [
5105]'s
we will have better luck.
I do hope Hugh Lynn is still safe and well. And all I can
say further is - take care of yourself!
With love to you and regards to all the hard workers in
the Association I am,
Faithfully, [
3299]
3/22/44 EC's letter to Mrs. [
3299]:
Mrs. [
3299]
..., Illinois
Dear Mrs. [
3299]
Thank you for your letter to the 16th.
I appreciate very much your attitude toward the readings for
yourself and for Mr. [
3352]. As I have said before, it is
one of the things that at times disturbed me considerably,
the variation as to the information as given certain
individuals, and we of course never know when or why such
has been the case. For instance we do not know in some
individuals' readings why there is really no place for
questions. We mean by that, the questions that have been
asked by the individual, have been taken one by one, if not
in order, and answered. Then in others where there may be
several questions, or just one or two, the information cuts
off, not giving an opportunity for the conductor to ask any
questions at all.
Now why this is, we don't know. We can surmise from what
has been given at such times in the reading, but why it
should be for individuals who are apparently very sincere as
to their interest in the work, and yet that's the way they
will be treated. We have had this to happen to individuals
who have been having readings right along once or twice a
year. They will have some special reading about some
questions, and it will not answer anything in the world
they ask and cut them off very short, and maybe the next
one will be quite different, full and complete.
It is either something about the attitude of those in the
room at the time, or about the individuals and the questions
they are asking information on. That is why we are trying to
study, get reports, good or bad, because we don't want only
the good reports, we want all the bad reports also, because
these often may bring us a great deal more, or better
interpretation of what is required to obtain the best reading
possible.
As for the Life Reading for your daughter, we have reserved
a period of the afternoon of April 18th. I don't believe
though that we have the data for this as yet. I think you
have one of the application blanks haven't you? If not, let
me know and I will send you one right away. Let's hope this
will be something that will be very much worth while and very
helpful.
Thank you again and hoping that you will send us a report on
your own reading, as well as the reading for Mr. [
3352].
Thanks a lot, and with every good wish, I remain
Sincerely, Edgar Cayce
EC/gm
3/25/44 Mrs. [
3299]'s letter to EC:
Dear Mr. Cayce,
It is very kind of you to offer to give [
5105] her reading
as scheduled. It makes me feel kind of small and I will
indeed try from time to time to send a little money "for the
cause" to make up the difference that will be owed for
[
5105]'s reading. You are very good - and very
understanding. I had already doped out the same way you do
as to the how and why of some readings being more complete
than others. I don't think a gift of this kind can ever be
put on a truly commercial basis - so much for so much, as it
were. I believe also that is one of the reasons why science
has had such bad luck in their "scientific" examinations of
certain trance mediums etc. throughout the years. The
"scientific" atmosphere, the ropes and obstructions and other
paraphernalia the scientist deems necessary in order to
eliminate any "fakes" does something to the medium so that
his or her real powers are handicapped in some psychic
fashion. Anyhow that's my theory on laboratory examinations.
The reason for this quick note is that I do not have a data
form for [
5105]'s reading. If you will send me one I will
execute and return at once.
Thank you again, [
3299]
3/29/44 EC's letter to Mrs. [
3299]:
Mrs. [
3299]
..., Illinois
Dear Mrs. [
3299]
Thank you very much for your letter of March 26th.
We are very glad that you have been patient with us and have
given us the benefit of all doubts. We do hope and trust the
information that we are able to obtain for your daughter may
be of as much help to her as such information has been for
our own sons. That is the manner in which I have tried to
judge the work through the years past. If it doesn't work in
our own lives, we can't expect it to work in the lives of
others, and it has proved more helpful in our understanding
each other, and I believe in making us better citizens,
better husbands, better wives, better friends. That I
believe is the proof.
We are enclosing the blanks and be sure to let us have these
back in time for the date of the appointment.
Thanking you very, very much and with every good wish, I
remain
Sincerely, Edgar Cayce
EC/gm
7/14/60 Mrs. [
3299]'s letter to GD:
Dear Mrs. Turner,
Answering your inquiry in re #5105, my daughter [
5105], (now
married and mother of 4 children) - No effort was ever made
to trace any of her former personalities as revealed in the
reading. The locations are too vague for that "the land of
the present nativity during the early settlings in the land"
would cover a lot of territory. The name given was CLARA
CARLTON but unless one had a more pinpointed location I can't
see how anything could be traced.
However, it might interest you that I did make an effort to
do some tracing from my own life reading which was your
No. [
3299] - (I may have already given you this information).
To quote: "the entity was in the land of the present
nativity, during those periods when Dearborn was destroyed.
The entity was the noble innkeepers wife - journeyed with
the greater group when escaping from massacre by Indian
Insurrection. Settled in those areas where Cincinnati now
stands, being of those same people or families of the
entity's maiden name - either Aggie or Abbie Blackburn."
I read up considerably on this Fort Dearborn period but could
find no record of an inn of any kind at that time. I wrote
to the Chicago Historical Society and quote the postcard I
received from them: "We do not know where you would find
information about Abbie or Aggie Blackburn. Her name is not
mentioned in any of our histories on early Chicago. The
'Sauganash', built by Mark Beaubein in the early 1820's is
said to have been the first inn in this locality."
However, Abbie or Aggie would not have used the name
"Blackburn" but her married name - yet from my own reading
and this postcard, there does not seem to have been any inn
during the Indian massacre.
I did not follow thru on an Aggie or Abbie Blackburn in
Cincinnati as apparently the name would not have been
Blackburn, unless this was the city of her childhood when
she was a Blackburn. Incidentally, I know there were
Blackburns in Cincinnati probably during the early 1800's
as my grandfather lived there for a while, and I believe
Edgar Cayce himself knew Blackburns in Cincinnati according
to "There is a River". Unless there is some record of an
Abbie or Aggie Blackburn marrying in Cincinnati and thus
you would obtain her married name - I can't see how you can
trace this person.
Sorry not to be of more help.
Good luck to your organization


Edgar Cayce Readings © 1971, 1993, 1994, 1995 by the Edgar Cayce Foundation