View source for Biography:James Martin Peebles

{{short description|American physician}}
{{Infobox person
| name       = James Martin Peebles, Jr
| image      = James Martin Peebles 001.jpg
|birth_place = Whitingham, Vermont
|death_date  = {{death date and age|1922|2|15|1822|3|23}}
|death_place = Los Angeles, California
| occupation = Physician (fraudulent degree & 1903 Fed. conviction mail fraud for Psychic Healing Business), writer, Spiritualist Preacher, Self Proclaimed Christ, Travel log speaker }}

'''James Martin Peebles''' (March 23, 1822 – February 15, 1922) was an American [[Medicine:Physician|physician]], prolific author and organizer of many professional, medical, and Psychic/Spiritualist religious associations.

==Biography==

Peebles was born in Whitingham, Vermont.<ref name="Guinn 1915">Guinn, James Miller. (1915). [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822043017821;view=1up;seq=51 ''A History of California and an Extended History of Los Angeles and Environs, Volume 3'']. Historic Record Company. pp. 527-533</ref> Peebles was a member of the Indian Peace Commission of 1868, United States Consul at Trebizond, Turkey, and representative of the American Arbitration League at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. A former [[Religion:Christian universalism|Universalist]] minister, he became an Episcopalian after the American Civil War, and then a [[Unsolved:Spiritualism|Spiritualist]] and [[Philosophy:Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophist]]. Many of his books are on spiritualist subjects, although he also penned a quite popular book, titled ''How to Live a Century and Grow Old Gracefully''.<ref>James Peebles (1884) [https://archive.org/details/howtolivecentury00peeb ''How to Live a Century and Grow Old Gracefully''], M. L. Holbrook & Co., New York</ref><ref name=lives>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120612045733/http://www.todancewithangels.com/peebles_obituary.html "Lives Only Days Short of Century"] (Feb 16, 1922) ''Los Angeles Times''</ref><ref>Joseph Osgood Barrett (1872) [https://books.google.com/books?id=1JHOwyrbJ7MC ''Spiritual Pilgrim: A Biography of James M. Peebles''], Boston: William White and Company</ref>

Peebles obtained a diploma in 1876 from the fraudulent Philadelphia University of Medicine and Surgery.<ref name="Cramp 1921"/><ref name="Massie 1984">Massie, Larry B; Schmitt, Peter J. (1984). ''Battle Creek, the Place Behind the Products: An Illustrated Business History''. Windsor Publications. p. 62. {{ISBN|0-89781-117-8}} "He paused from his travels to pick up a quick diploma from the fraudulent Philadelphia University of Medicine and Surgery in 1876. Dr. Peebles then bounced around the country, setting up psychic healing institutes at Hammonton, New Jersey, San Antonio, Texas; and San Diego, California."</ref><ref>[http://www.medicalantiques.com/civilwar/Articles/Fraudulent_medical_colleges_1800s.htm "Ludwig Bruck's List of Unregistered Practitioners"]. "Philadelphia University of Medicine and Surgery (Philadelphia, Pa.) Fraudulent institution. Extinct."</ref> He obtained a [[Social:Doctor of Philosophy|Doctor of Philosophy]] from the Medical University of Chicago in 1882.<ref name="Guinn 1915"/><ref>Lowe, Berenice Bryant. (1976). ''Tales of Battle Creek''. Albert L. and Louise B. Miller Foundation. p. 71</ref> He was a professor in the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati.<ref name=lives/>

A few organizations Peebles took a leadership role in are the National Spiritualist Association, the California College of Sciences, the Peebles College of Science and Philosophy, the California Centenarian Club, and the California Humanitarian League. Peebles was an opponent of [[Biology:Vaccination|vaccination]] and [[Biology:Vivisection|vivisection]].<ref name="Guinn 1915"/> He authored ''Vaccination a Curse and a Menace to Personal Liberty'' in 1900.<ref>Buescher, John Benedict. (2006). ''The Remarkable Life of John Murray Spear: Agitator for the Spirit Land''. University of Notre Dame Press. p. 335. {{ISBN|978-0268022006}} "Many American spiritualists were also active anti-vaccinationists — see, for example, James Martin Peebles, ''Vaccination a Curse and a Menace to Personal Liberty, with Statistics Showing Its Dangers and Criminality''."</ref> He was editor of the monthly magazine ''Temple of Health and Psychic Review''.<ref name="Guinn 1915"/>

Peebles was influenced by Sylvester Graham and opposed the consumption of alcohol, coffee, meat, tea and tobacco.<ref>Wilson, Brian C. (2014). ''Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and the Religion of Biologic Living''. Indiana University Press. p. 20. {{ISBN|978-0-253-01447-4}}</ref> He was a [[Philosophy:Vegetarianism|vegetarianism]] activist and contributed articles to ''The Vegetarian Magazine''. His diet was ovo-lacto vegetarian, he ate butter, cheese, eggs, milk, fruits, nuts and vegetables.<ref>Anonymous. (1897). [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049796421;view=1up;seq=189 ''James M. Peebles, A.M., M.D'']. ''Food, Home and Garden'' 1 (12): 179-180.</ref>

Peebles was married to Mary M. Conkey, and they had three children, none of whom lived past infancy.

==Quackery==
[[File:Dr. Peebles Epilepsy Remedy.png|thumb|Peebles Epilepsy Remedy]]
He was the Chairman of Peebles' Institute of Health in Battle Creek, Michigan. In reality, it was nothing more than a mail order scam business. There was no inpatient treatment center, it was a small office located above a Cigar Store. He advertised that if one would send in their money and symptoms, he would mail them a diagnosis and send them miracle medicine cures. His claim was that with his Psychic Voices and his powers equal to Christ, he did not need to see them. The institute sold a dubious "epilepsy cure", which medical experts considered [[Philosophy:Quackery|quackery]].<ref name="Cramp 1921">Cramp, Arthur J. (1921). [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31158003527487;view=1up;seq=156 ''Nostrums and Quackery: Articles on the Nostrum Evil, Quackery and Allied Matters Affecting the Public Health, Volume 2'']. Press of American Medical Association. pp. 148-150</ref><ref name="JAMA 1915">Anonymous. (1915). [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015082605208;view=1up;seq=473 ''Dr. Peebles Institute of Health: A Fraudulent and Dangerous "Cure" for Epilepsy'']. ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' 64 (5): 455-456.</ref><ref>[https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/ads-and-labels-early-20th-century-health-fraud-promotions/2018-11 "Ads and Labels From Early 20th-Century Health Fraud Promotions"]. AMA Journal of Ethics.</ref> His epilepsy remedy was examined by the American Medical Association's Chemical Laboratory which revealed it was made from "mainly a hydro-alcoholic solution of extractives with flavouring."<ref name="Cramp 1921"/> The "indiscriminate use" of [[Chemistry:Bromide|bromide]]s was considered dangerous to epileptics.<ref name="JAMA 1915"/> In Feb. 16, 1903, the Detroit Free Press published his conviction in the case of United States of America vs James M. Peebles et al, for illegal use of the U.S. Mail in a Psychic Healing Business based in Battle Creek, Michigan.


Peebles also set up psychic healing institutes in {{wipe|California}}, New Jersey and {{wipe|Texas}}.<ref name="Massie 1984"/>

==Bibliography (partial)==

* 1859 ''Henry W. Beecher on Theodore Parker's Platform: Signs of the Times, Orthodoxy and Infidelity: Spiritualism''.  Battle Creek, Michigan: Steam Press of the ''Review and Herald'' Office.
*  with Joseph Osgood Barrett and Eben Howe Bailey, [https://books.google.com/books?id=u9kZxWohp3wC ''The Spiritual Harp: A Collection of Vocal Music for the Choir, Congregation, and Social Circle''], Boston, New York,: W. White & company.
* 1868 ''The Practical of Spiritualism: Biographical Sketch of Abraham James, Historic Description of His Oil-Well Discoveries in Pleasantville, Pa., through Spirit Direction.''  Chicago: Horton & Leonard.
* 1869 [https://books.google.com/books?id=CZI4AAAAYAAJ ''Seers of the Ages''] or ''Spiritualism Past & Present'', W. White & Co. Boston USA & J. Burns London, England
* 1871 with Hudson Tuttle, [https://books.google.com/books?id=XS_ZAAAAMAAJ ''The Year-Book of Spiritualism for 1871''], Boston: W. White and Company.
* 1872 [https://books.google.com/books?id=diUSAAAAYAAJ ''Witch-Poison and the Antidote''], Troy, New York: The Troy Children's Progressive Lyceum.
* 1874 with Joseph Osgood Barrett, ''The Gadarene, or, Spirits in Prison.''  Boston: Colby and Rich.
* 1875 [https://books.google.com/books?id=sz5OAAAAYAAJ ''Around the World: Or, Travels in Polynesia, China, India, Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Other 'Heathen' Countries''], Boston: Colby and Rich.
* 1876 ''The Conflict between Darwinianism and Spiritualism, or, Do All Tribes and Races Constitute One Human Species?: Did Man Originate from Ascidians, Apes, and Gorillas?: Are Animals Immortal?''  Boston: Colby & Rich
* 1877 with [[Biography:Ann Lee|Ann Lee]] (spirit), ''Oriental Spiritualism: From the Spirit of Mother Ann Lee to J.M. Peebles.''  Mt. Lebanon, N.Y.: s.n.
* 1878 [https://books.google.com/books?id=7ANEAQAAMAAJ ''Buddhism and Christianity Face to Face], or, an Oral Discussion between the Rev. Migettuwatte, a Buddhist Priest, and Rev. D. Silva, an English Clergyman: Held at Pantura, Ceylon''.  Boston: Colby and Rich.
* 1878 ''Christ, the Corner-Stone of Spiritualism, or, the Talmudic Proofs of Jesus' Existence : Who Was Jesus?: The Distinction between Jesus and Christ: The Moral Estimate That Leading American Spiritualists Put Upon Jesus of Nazareth: The Commands, Marvels, and Spiritual Gifts of Jesus Christ: The Philosophy of Salvation through Christ : The Belief of Spiritualists and the Church of the Future.''  London: James Burns.
* 1880 [https://books.google.com/books?id=1Bw5AAAAIAAJ ''Immortality, and Our Employments Hereafter''], Boston: Colby and Rich.
* 1880 ''Spiritual Harmonies.''  2nd. ed. Boston: Colby and Rich.
* 1884 [https://archive.org/details/howtolivecentury00peeb ''How to Live a Century and Grow Old Gracefully.''] New York: M. L. Hollbrook.
* 1887 with Frederick W. Evans, J. P. MacLean, ''Shakerism in London : Addresses by Frederick W. Evans, Elder in the Order of Shakers, Dr. Peebles, J. Burns, and Others, at Claremont Hall, Penton St., London, N., Sunday Evening, July 3, 1887.''  London: Reprinted from the Medium and Daybreak. 
* 1890 ''Nihilism, Socialism, Shakerism, Which?''  Mt. Lebanon, N.Y.: s.n.
* 1895 ''Magic: One of a Series of Lectures.''  San Diego, California: Peebles Publishing House.
* 1898 ''Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Spiritualism, at Its Birthplace.''  Battle Creek, Michigan: Drs. Peebles & Burroughs.
* 1898 ''Seers of the Ages: Embracing Spiritualism, Past and Present : Doctrines Stated and Moral Tendencies Defined.'' 8th ed. Boston: Banner of Light Publishing Co.
[[File:James Martin Peebles 1872.tiff|thumb|right|140px|J. M. Peebles, from ''Spiritual Pilgrim'' 1872]]
* 1898 ''Three Journeys around the World, or, Travels in the Pacific Islands, New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon, India, Egypt and Other Oriental Countries.''  Boston: Banner of Light Publishing Co.
* 1899 ''Spiritualism in All Lands and Times: Address to the International Congress of Spiritualists, Held in London, June, 1898.''  Battle Creek, Mich.: Drs. Peebles & Burroughs.
* 1900 ''Priest-Rejected Proofs of Immortality: Its Naturalness, Its Possibilities, and Now-a-Day Evidences Refused a Hearing by Rev. Canon Girdlestone and Other Churchmen Connected with the Victoria Institute and Philosophical Society of Great Britain''.  Battle Creek, Mich.: Published by the author.
* 1902 ''A Series of Seven Essays Upon Spiritualism Vs. Materialism, Appearing in the Free-Thought Magazine''.  Battle Creek, Mich.: Dr. Peebles Institute of Health Publishing Co.
* 1902 ''The Eightieth Birthday Anniversary of Dr. J.M. Peebles: Celebrated in Melbourne, Australia, and Printed in Part in W.H. Terry's Harbinger of Light (April and May 1902): With an Essay on How I Am Living to Live a Century.''  London: Published at the office of Light.
* 1903 ''The First Epistle of Dr. Peebles to His Seventh Day Adventist Critics.''  Battle Creek, Mich.: Dr. Peebles Institute of Health.
* 1904 ''Reincarnation, or, the Doctrine of the "Soul's" Successive Embodiments: Examined and Discussed Pro and Con''.  Battle Creek, Mich.: Peebles Medical Institute.
* 1905 ''The Demonism of the Ages : Spirit Obsessions, So Common in Spiritism, Oriental and Occidental Occultism''. 3rd ed.  Battle Creek, Mich.: Peebles Medical Institute.
* 1905 [https://archive.org/details/vaccinationcurse00peeb/page/n5 ''Vaccination a Curse and a Menace to Personal Liberty, with Statistics Showing Its Dangers and Criminality''].  Battle Creek, Michigan.
* 1906 ''The Spirit's Pathway Traced; Did It Pre-Exist and Does It Reincarnate Again into Mortal Life?''  Battle Creek, Michigan,: Dr. Peebles Institute of Health.
* 1909 ''Spirit Mates, Their Origin and Destiny, Sex-Life, Marriage, Divorce.''  Battle Creek, Michigan: Peebles' Publishing Company.
* 1910 ''Five Journeys around the World''.  Battle Creek, Michigan,: Peebles Publishing Company.
* 1910 ''What Is Spiritualism? Who Are These Spiritualists? And What Can Spiritualism Do for the World?'' 5th ed.  Battle Creek, Michigan: Peebles Publishing Company.
* 1912 ''Death Defeated, or, the Psychic Secret of How to Keep Young.'' 5th ed. Los Angeles: Peebles Publishing Company.
* n.d. with Henry A. Hartt, ''The Pro and Con of Spiritualism''.  Boston, Mass.: Banner of Light Publishing Company.
* 1970, Reverent William Rainen published his channeled messages from Dr. Peebles through his own publications in the 60's, 70's and later was a major contributor for a monthly magazine called, 'Spirit Speaks,' along with other famous names during that time frame. William channeled Dr. Peebles for decades, and taught many how to raise their vibration and communicate with Dr. Peebles too.  Thomas Jacobson was one of his students who later became known when his journey was documented in to Dance with Angles. Others have followed since. Rev. Rainen also lectured on these same principles in the US, and abroad.
* 1990, Don Pendleton, and Linda Pendleton, ''To Dance with Angels : An Amazing Journey to the Heart with the Phenomenal Thomas Jacobson and the Grand Spirit, Dr. Peebles''. N.Y.: Kensington Books.  5th edition, CA: Pendleton Artists (Book is written by Don and Linda Pendleton. Includes channeled material from Dr. Peebles, channeled through mediumship of Thomas Jacobson).
* 2012, ''Three Principles of Angelic Wisdom, The Spiritual Psychology of the Grand Spirit Dr. Peebles'' by Linda Pendleton. CA: Pendleton Artists.  Biographical information on Dr. James Martin Peebles.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

*Anonymous. (1915). [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015082605208;view=1up;seq=473 ''Dr. Peebles Institute of Health: A Fraudulent and Dangerous "Cure" for Epilepsy'']. ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' 64 (5): 455–456. 
*Joseph Osgood Barrett. [https://archive.org/details/spiritualpilgrim00barr/page/n8 ''The Spiritual Pilgrim: A Biography of James M. Peebles'']. Boston.

{{Spiritism and Spiritualism}}

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