It always distressed my mother, Eileen Coly and myself serving as subsequent Presidents of Parapsychology Foundation that the science of parapsychology while at times recognizing the contribution of PF’s first President and founder, Eileen J. Garrett, there has been little mention made or known of the contributions made by our co-founder and first Vice President, the Honorable Frances P. Bolton. Kudos to “ Mrs. G” as Garrett was affectionately referred to but truly without “Mrs. B” again with affection, there would literally have been no PF without Bolton. Mrs. B served as Vice President of PF from our inception in 1951 until her death in 1977. No mere honorary title for her, she was hands on and involved in all PF matters and held meetings with many of our grantees, attending and co chairing many PF International Conferences including our famous Utrecht conference in 1953 which she financially underwrote.
Mrs. Bolton’s interest in scientific research in parapsychology derived from her first meeting with Garrett in London in 1927 attending a sitting. The wealthy Cleveland born native was deeply impressed with Garrett’s psychic gifts as a medium of the highest scientific integrity. Garrett, perplexed with her abilities, desired to bring psychic studies into the realm of scientific inquiry which coincided with Mrs. B’s curiosity and quest for illumination. These two very diverse women, the Clairvoyant and the Congressman forged a lifetime friendship and commitment to the study of parapsychology. David Loth in his book, A Long Way Forward: The Biography of Frances P. Bolton stated “the basis for one of the significant partnerships in scientific psychic research was laid.”
Their partnership both personal and professional cemented and grew in dimension to include the formation in 1941 of Creative Age Press which published the monthly magazine Tomorrow and later Garrett Publications. In those early years Mrs. G convinced Mrs. B to encourage more active intensive research and hence Mrs. B established in the name of William McDougall ( the great parapsychological pioneer then in the US at Duke University) a fund which made possible some of the early American research and experimentation. Mrs. B continued to support that work after Professor J.B. Rhine succeeded McDougall and established the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke. Other researchers were also supported culminating ultimately in the creation of PF’s charter to further “the knowledge of human responses to psychologically recognized stimuli transmitted by human beings by means other than sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell in the areas commonly known as parapsychology, electrobiology and extrasensory perception”.
Mrs. Bolton came from a family whose members were prominent in the governmental and industrial affairs of the nation. She was born in Cleveland on March 29, 1885 daughter to Charles W. Bingham and Mary Perry Payne Bingham. One of her uncles was Oliver Payne, who with John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company. Both her grandfathers, William Bingham and Henry B. Payne, were members of the Ohio Legislature with Payne going on to serve in the US Senate. She was schooled in private Schools in the US and Switzerland and received 16 honorary degrees from leading universities during her later years. In 1907 she married Chester Castle Bolton involved in the steel industry and business affairs of Cleveland who was elected and served in Congress from the 22nd District of Cleveland until his death in 1939. Mrs. B was elected to fill his seat in 1940 and went on elected to serve in her own right for 14 years until her eventual defeat in 1968.
She is probably best remembered in Congress for her work on the House Foreign Affairs Committee where at her retirement she was the ranking Republican Member. She also served as the Congressional Delegate to the United Nations. Traveling widely in her capacity as the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee she was particularly active in African affairs visiting most of the newly formed African nations and conferring regularly with leaders. She personally underwrote the cost of the construction of the African Pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
Apart from politics and parapsychology she may be best known for her long interest in nursing education as through her efforts and support the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing was created. During World War I, she persuaded the Secretary of War to establish the Army School of Nursing, and in World War II it was the Bolton bill that created the US Cadet Nursing Corp. She also held the distinction of being one of the first women marching into Paris after its Liberation. She met and became close to General Dwight D. Eisenhower during those days and was instrumental along with Gerald Ford in convincing him to run for President. She was a member of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association dedicated to preserving George Washington’s beloved home and was instrumental in preserving a large acreage of land protecting the overview from his home against the encroachment of real estate construction. I was fortunate as a child and teen to visit Mt. Vernon several times and was treated to her private tours and even now while standing on the porch marvel at her generosity and forethought to protect the view across the Potomac for future generations. She was also a supporter of child literacy directives and also the Esperanto language movement that I must say I became proficient in thanks to her insistence. She personally did much for the Tuskegee Airmen. She became the first mother-and-son Congressional team in American History while serving in Congress with her son Charles. She supported many far ranging pet projects to which she gave her all including PF. My mother and I were proud to participate in filming and attending the subsequent debut of “Reaching out for Liberty and Light” providing an overview of this unique and generous far seeing individual.
Again, I reiterate that without Frances P. Bolton there would be no PF and the subsequent body of work accumulated in these past 69 years supporting researchers and students around the world. I recognize that I am personally enormously lucky to have experienced first- hand these two “forces of Nature” Eileen J. Garrett and Frances P. Bolton. In their memory we attempt to continue their dedication “Onward and Upward” beneath the PF’s ever undulating spiral. Please consider a much needed fully tax deductible donation to continue their legacy.
I know “the Ladies” would approve of this announcement of a funding opportunity regretfully not PF’s mandate as our finances do not currently allow for that at this difficult time. They no doubt are happy for PF to continue to be a clearing house for information about parapsychology, research and study opportunities.