Jesse Charles Fremont Grumbine (1861 â 1938), was an American Spiritualist and New Thought author, lecturer, and organizer, best known for founding the Order of the White Rose and the College of Psychical Sciences and Unfoldment, institutions devoted to the study of psychic phenomena and spiritual development. Originally ordained as a Universalist minister and later serving in Unitarian pulpits, he left the clergy in the 1890s to pursue Spiritualism. Through his schools, lectures, and large body of books on subjects such as clairvoyance, psychometry, and telepathy, Grumbine became a prominent figure in the mind science and metaphysical movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Grumbine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 19, 1861, the son of Jerry and Mariana Scholl Grumbine. On his fatherâÂÂs side he was of Huguenot descent. His father was born in Frederick, Maryland, and his paternal grandparents came from Germany. His motherâÂÂs ancestors came to the United States from Holland; she was born in Pennsylvania.
He was educated in the Cincinnati public schools and graduated from the Art Department of the University of Cincinnati in 1883. He later graduated from the Theological Department of St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, in 1885. He began to preach in his twenty third year.
Grumbine was originally a Universalist and later a Unitarian clergyman. In 1884 he became clerk of the Cayuga Universalist Association and then from September 1, 1885 to February 1, 1888, he served as pastor of the First Universalist Society of Syracuse, New York, before switching to the Unitarian church.
During his pastorate at the First Universalist Church of Syracuse, Rev. Grumbine became one of the best known ministers in the city. His work was well known and he drew strong support from many within the region.
At the same time, he publicly supported Henry George and the United Labor Party and served as chairman for its convention held in Syracuse during GeorgeâÂÂs 1887 campaign for Secretary of State. GeorgeâÂÂs ideas, later known as Georgism or the single tax movement, held that individuals should own the value they produce through their labor, while economic rent derived from land and natural resources should belong equally to all members of society. GrumbineâÂÂs advocacy of these views led the Universalist Church Society to request his resignation in late 1887. The congregation became divided into opposing factions, and attempts were made to remove him from the pastorate. At contentious meetings and services, Grumbine defended his political convictions and sought a congregational vote on retaining him. A majority of the congregation declared their support for him, and efforts to oust him were unsuccessful.
Following the conflict Grumbine soon left the Syracuse pastorate and in early 1888 he accepted a call to the Chapin Memorial Church in Oneonta, where he entered the Unitarian ministry. This move marked his transition from Universalism to Unitarianism, and he thereafter served in Unitarian pulpits, including in Oneonta, New York; St. Joseph, Missouri; and Geneseo, Illinois, before leaving the Unitarian ministry in 1894 due to enthusiasm for the spiritualism movement.
In 1894, Grumbine left the Unitarian ministry following what he described as a change in belief. He stated that this change made it impossible for him to continue conscientiously as a pastor. He publicly declared that he had become a Spiritualist and intended to devote his efforts to the study and teaching of Spiritualist doctrines and phenomena. Although he severed his pastoral ties, he did not withdraw entirely from church affiliation and continued to identify with the Unitarians.
Following his resignation, he traveled extensively lecturing on Spiritualism. He spent several months in Cincinnati and Muscatine, Iowa, before settling for a time in Minneapolis, where he took part in a large Spiritualist camp and lectured regularly at the St. Paul Spiritual Alliance. He later moved to Boston in December 1895 and then to Chicago in 1898.
In his lectures he presented Spiritualism as a system based on truth and love, emphasizing that spiritual understanding unfolds gradually through personal growth. He taught that salvation must be attained through individual effort and moral development rather than through church authority or fixed creeds. Spiritualism, in his view, could not be confined to rigid doctrine, and truth was to be received voluntarily, not imposed. Grumbine spoke about communication with spirits and rejected the popular spiritualism theory of "astral shells," stating that spirits remain in the spirit realm and that communication occurs through thought transference. He described the body as a temporary vessel and maintained that spiritual laws govern manifestation and development.
In 1894, while still in Geneseo, Illinois, Grumbine founded the College of Psychical Science and Unfoldment, which he described as the only institution of its kind at the time. The college was devoted to what he called the "System of Philosophy Concerning Divinity." Instruction was conducted through mailed lessons and included courses in metaphysics, ontology, clairvoyance, psychometry, inspiration, intuition, psychopathy, hypnotism, telepathy, suggestive therapeutics, and illumination.
In 1898 the institution moved to Chicago and established its headquarters at 3960 Langley Avenue on the South Side of the city. Its faculty included several figures associated with Spiritualism and mental science. Among them were W. J. Colville, a prominent lecturer in the Spiritualist movement who served as chair of Mental and Spiritual Science, and Herbert A. Parkyn, head of The Chicago School of Psychology, who served as chair of Suggestive Therapeutics.
Dr. ParkynâÂÂs Chicago School of Psychology was located only a few blocks from GrumbineâÂÂs college. Through this association, graduates of the Chicago School were able to pursue additional instruction in the more esoteric teachings connected with the science of Suggestive Therapeutics. W. J. Colville, who directed the Brooklyn School of Psychology, an affiliate of ParkynâÂÂs Chicago School, provided a similar avenue for students seeking further instruction.The CollegeâÂÂs board of directors included Richard B. Gruelle, the famed American Impressionist painter; Lowry W. Goode, president of the Cairo and Norfolk Railroad Company; Dr. J. Swanson, a psychopathist and electro-magnetic healer from Minneapolis; and Erastus C. Gaffield, a founder of the Nebraska Distillery Company and later an influential New Thought author.
The institution would later operated under the name College of Divine Sciences and Realization.
Grumbine's collaboration with Dr. Parkyn was based on a shared commitment to distinguishing serious psychical research from what both men viewed as the excessive mysticism dominating turn-of-the-century occult literature. Grumbine criticized what he called the "occult rubbish" of the contemporary occult revival, particularly targeting Theosophy and what he described as its reliance on "Oriental phraseology" and "mystic or cabalistic symbology," which he believed obscured rather than clarified spiritual understanding. While he studied ancient traditions such as Hermeticism and Hindu philosophy and believed they contained genuine insight into spiritual law, he objected to the way these teachings were often presented in obscure language and separated from practical application. In his writings, he emphasized disciplined personal development and the mastery of mental and moral faculties rather than reliance on mystical speculation.
Grumbine and Parkyn also explored the relationship between physical phenomena and spiritual principles. Drawing on ideas from optics and color theory, Grumbine wrote that sensory experiences such as light, color, and form reflected underlying spiritual laws. He described color as a vibratory expression or aura that corresponded to the moral and psychic condition of the individual. In his 1897 book Clairvoyance, he presented consciousness as the medium through which divine impressions were received, maintaining that the brain functioned as a reflector of thought rather than its source.
The College also served as the headquarters of the Order of the White Rose, a Rosicrucian organization founded by Grumbine in 1893. The order was devoted to promoting what he called "Universal Religion", the idea that divine truth transcends sectarian boundaries and can be realized through inner spiritual development rather than external authority. It taught that spirit is the underlying reality behind the material world and that personal consciousness and inner guidance are the true sources of religious insight. Religious figures such as Jesus, Buddha, and Zoroaster were regarded not as founders of separate faiths but as teachers who expressed a single universal truth.
In presenting the origins of the order, Grumbine stated that its teachings were inspired in part through communications he believed he received from the spirit of the deceased English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. These spiritual communications were later published in a pamphlet titled Proofs of Spirit Identity and Guidance, which consisted of letters said to have been received by Grumbine while he was serving as a Unitarian minister. According to his account, the communications offered spiritual truths that helped shape the teachings associated with the Order of the White Rose.
Alongside the regular curriculum of the college, the Order hosted a series of lectures known as the "Parlors of the Order of the White Rose," which offered members further instruction in spiritual illumination and personal development. Membership in the Order was reserved for students who had completed the four series of teachings offered through the college, which together formed what Grumbine termed the "System of Philosophy Concerning Divinity."
The Order was structured in two divisions: the Spiritual Order of the White Rose as the exoteric, or outer branch, and the Spiritual Order of the Red Rose as the esoteric, or inner branch. It attracted members throughout the United States and abroad and operated from centers in Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Portland, Oregon, London, and Madras, India. Grumbine served as the president of the organization.
Objects of the Order of the White Rose
The constitution of the Order of the White Rose set out nine objectives that defined the purpose and activities of the organization:
In June 1898, Grumbine launched his periodical Immortality as the official publication of the Order of the White Rose. The journal was devoted to the metaphysical study of Mental Science, Divine Science, Psychopathy, Theosophy, Occultism, Mysticism, and Spiritualism. Dr. Parkyn quickly endorsed the new magazine in his journal Suggestion, writing, "I consider Immortality the very best of the psychical publications."
Among its recurring features was The Academy, a dialogue series which claimed to channel rare illuminations from the Christ, Platonic, and Hermetic spheres. These teachings were delivered in dialogue form through the voices of ancient seers, hierophants, philosophers, and Illuminati. Other regular content included The EditorâÂÂs Tripod, which provided oracular commentary on contemporary affairs "in a Platonic spirit," along with updates from the Theosophical Review by Annie Besant, and regular contributions by W. J. Colville, Cora L. V. Richmond, Jerome A. Anderson, Swami Vekananda, Swami Saradananda, and Swami Abhayananda.
Immortality magazine as the voice of the Order of the White Rose, presented sacred geometry, numerology, and divine form as central elements in its teachings on mental science. Its pages described number and shape as a universal language through which the eternal principles of spirit could be expressed, drawing heavily on Hermetic, Masonic, and occult traditions.
The magazine explained numbers as spiritual archetypes and "impresses of thought," holding that ancient Egypt, India, and Greece had used numerical and geometric forms to express Deity, Soul, Eternity, and Infinity. The concept of numbers was explained as transcending the senses and revealing deeper truths, not just superficial appearances, but with each number having direct meaning.
Geometry was described as a science dealing fundamentally with space and time. All regularity of form in nature was seen as an expression of thought, and principles such as PlatoâÂÂs extreme and mean ratio and conic sections were regarded as already embodied in the universe. A central tenet was the Hermetic aphorism âÂÂas above, so below,â establishing the "Law of Correspondence" between the universal (macrocosm) and the individual (microcosm). This law was considered essential for understanding the unity of all things. The OrderâÂÂs teachings aimed to reveal the mathematical structure of the inner and outer cosmos, affirming the cosmos itself as both the center and the "Eternal Omnipresence."
Immortality magazine placed Hindu philosophy at the center of its exploration of spiritual truth, treating it as a foundational system for understanding the soul, the afterlife, and the path to self-realization. The Order of the White Rose drew heavily on these concepts, presenting them as essential to its curriculum and its mission to reveal the deeper laws of life.
It was through the voice of Swami Vivekananda that these ideas were given their clearest authority. Vivekananda, the foremost exponent of Vedanta in the West, was repeatedly cited as the guide whose works set the standard for serious students of spiritual science. His book, Raja Yoga was praised and designated as required reading in the College of Psychical Sciences, and his lectures, "The Ideal of a Universal Religion," "The Atman," and "Bhakti Yoga," were treated as foundational texts for understanding the soulâÂÂs immortality. The Order of the White Rose openly endorsed his writings as central to its philosophy, regarding his work as the bridge between Eastern wisdom and Western science.
The origins of soul-life and religion were traced back to the Vedic faith, Brahmanism, and the Vedanta. These traditions were invoked to support the doctrine of the soulâÂÂs eternity, pre-existence, and ultimate unity with the Infinite. Hindu philosophy, combined with modern psychology and spiritualism, was presented as a complete framework of âÂÂunanswerable hypothesesâ that made immortality intelligible to the rational mind. Karma and reincarnation were emphasized as the twin laws binding cause and effect and explaining the soulâÂÂs successive earthly lives.
At the heart of this teaching stood the Hindu concept of the Atman, manâÂÂs true spiritual self, distinct from the physical body and accessible only through Yoga. The Atman was described as the "God within," the source of intuition and conscience, obscured by ignorance (Avidya) but destined for realization through union with the universal spirit. Buddhi, the higher faculty of understanding, was presented as the soulâÂÂs light of certainty and spiritual illumination. The Order of the White Rose explicitly adopted these ideals, teaching that its purpose was to liberate the Atman from the prison of the senses. Yoga, as expounded in the Yoga Sastra, was held up as the practical science of realizing the Atman. The practices of self-control, meditation, and Samadhi were presented not as exotic asceticism but as structured methods for entering super-conscious states. The Order regarded these teachings as central to training, pointing to Yoga as the path to direct knowledge of spirit.
In 1900, Grumbine relocated the headquarters of his College of Psychical Science and the Order of the White Rose to Syracuse, New York. While his institutions had maintained a strong presence in the Chicago area, serving as the key advocates for combining esoteric and occult traditions with a medically grounded approach to mental science, Grumbine had become disillusioned with the direction the New Thought movement was taking in Chicago and chose to withdraw his headquarters entirely from the city.
Later in 1900, Grumbine traveled to Washington, D.C., where he established a chapter of the Order of the White Rose with Kate Atkinson Boehme serving as its president. Boehme also became editor of Radiant Center, the magazine that served as the organ of the Order in Washington. Grumbine then established a chapter of the Order in Boston with Miss Lucy C. McGee serving as its head. Henry Wood, an early pioneer of the New Thought movement and a close family friend of Herbert A. Parkyn, was invited to serve as a teacher and to deliver several special lectures. Wood's books were also prominently promoted in Immortality as essential reading. Other Boston figures associated with the movement were also invited to lecture, including Horatio Dresser and Charles Malloy, who had been a close friend of the late Ralph Waldo Emerson.
In 1902, Grumbine, together with W. J. Colville and Henry Wood, took part in the reuniting of the Metaphysical Club of Boston.
While in Washington, D.C., Grumbine became involved in a widely reported scandal concerning Lucile Hunt, an eighteen-year-old who had begun working with him as a secretary and assistant in the activities of the Order of the White Rose and the College of Divine Sciences and Realization. Her mother, Martha C. Hunt, accused Grumbine of exercising undue influence over her daughter and attempted to enlist detectives to recover her. The dispute intensified when Grumbine accused Mrs. Hunt of taking papers belonging to the Order of the White Rose. Mrs. Hunt asserted that the documents were actually letters written by Grumbine to her daughter containing affectionate and improper expressions. During the conflict Grumbine wrote a letter accusing Mrs. Hunt of misconduct, which led to his arrest on a charge of criminal libel. He waived a preliminary examination and was released on $1,000 bond pending the action of a grand jury.
The controversy deepened when Lucile Hunt herself reported her mother to authorities for stealing numerous household items from a rental residence where she had been staying. The theft accusation resulted in Martha HuntâÂÂs arrest and added further attention to the already public dispute. Lucile Hunt subsequently left Washington and moved to Syracuse, New York, where she continued working with Grumbine. Although the legal proceedings were eventually dropped, the episode produced months of negative press and became one of the most damaging scandals associated with Grumbine and the Order of the White Rose.
In his later years Grumbine became deeply involved in the organized Spiritualist movement and spent much of his time lecturing throughout the United States and around the world. His lectures promoted his Universal Religion and he continued to advocate a system of spiritual training intended to cultivate the latent powers of the mind and soul.
During this period Grumbine also became increasingly critical of the condition of the Spiritualist movement. He argued that Spiritualism, in its popular form, had entered a period of decline and that many of its organizations had grown weak through apathy, poor leadership, and an excessive focus on attempting to persuade skeptics. He also maintained that the movement had been damaged by disreputable or fraudulent mediums whose conduct had discredited Spiritualism in the eyes of the public. In his view, the future of the movement depended not on institutions or demonstrations but on individuals who lived disciplined spiritual lives and demonstrated spiritual truth through character and personal development.
Despite these criticisms, Grumbine remained a prominent figure within the movement. He lectured extensively and for many years was a featured speaker at the annual conventions of Spiritualists, and the Chatauqua and Lily Dale, New York Camp meetings. He also spent several years traveling internationally as a lecturer, undertaking extended tours during which he delivered talks in major cities around the world, including Sydney, Australia; Madras, India; and most of the capitals of Europe His standing within the community eventually led to his election as president of the Spiritualist Congress.
He also served as general missionary for the General Assembly of Spiritualists of the United States and Canada, and was a life member of the Society of Science, Letters, and Art in London and the Survival League of America.
Grumbine was a prolific writer whose publishing career extended from the late 1880s through the 1920s, with two early works during his ministry and a concentrated period between 1897 and 1911 devoted largely to practical occult instruction. His works were primarily self published through the Order of the White Rose.
GrumbineâÂÂs first book, Evolution and Christianity, was published by Charles H. Kerr & Company of Chicago during his ministry years. The book dealt with the relationship between Charles DarwinâÂÂs theory of evolution and Christian belief. In it, Grumbine argued that DarwinâÂÂs ideas did not contradict the BibleâÂÂs account of creation and were not opposed to Christian teaching. He wrote that studying the development of life in a rational way could help people better understand what he described as GodâÂÂs providence. According to his theory, the laws of cause and effect had not been interrupted over time, and what people had called "supernatural" was in fact the natural working of a great power that was not yet be fully understood. The book stated that "nature is the sum of the manifestations of the will of God." It challenged certain forms of religious teaching but maintained that it was not irreligious.
Also during his years in the Unitarian ministry, Grumbine published An Old Religion in Chicago through Charles H. Kerr & Co. The book grew out of a lecture he had given in Chicago and focused on the problem of division within Christianity. In it, he questioned whether Christian unity could be restored by placing authority in apostolic succession as some Protestant churches were teaching. Grumbine rejected this idea and argued that unity could not be secured simply by appealing to inherited authority or church hierarchy, but should be based on reason and shared principles.
The book presents GrumbineâÂÂs explanation of clairvoyance as a natural faculty of the human spirit rather than a supernatural phenomenon. The book argues that all individuals possess latent spiritual powers that can be developed through a process he calls "unfoldment." According to Grumbine, clairvoyant perception occurs when the mind becomes sensitive to subtle spiritual vibrations, allowing consciousness to perceive realities beyond ordinary sight. It combines philosophical discussion with practical instruction on lessons associated with the Order of the White Rose that outline methods intended to cultivate clairvoyant ability, including meditation, concentration, ethical discipline, and the regulation of physical and mental conditions.
This work presents GrumbineâÂÂs view that the survival of the soul after death is governed by spiritual law rather than theological doctrine. The book argues that life is an eternal progression and that death represents only a change in the form of existence, not the end of consciousness. Grumbine discusses the pre-existence and divine nature of the soul and maintains that the spiritual self exists independently of the physical body. Drawing on spiritualism, mysticism, and mental science, the work presents the future life as a natural continuation of human spiritual evolution and emphasizes the ongoing unfoldment of the soul beyond physical life.
The book examines psychometry, defined as the ability of the soul to perceive the history of an object or person through physical contact. Grumbine argues that all material things retain a spiritual record or aura that can be sensed by a sufficiently sensitive mind. He presents psychometry as a natural human faculty governed by laws of vibration and unfoldment rather than a miraculous gift. The work outlines a series of lessons and exercises intended to develop this ability through concentration, meditation, and disciplined mental practice.
The book examines the aura as a radiant expression of the soul that reflects a personâÂÂs mental, emotional, and spiritual condition. Grumbine discusses the meanings of different colors and links them to specific states of health, character, and stages of spiritual development. He also distinguishes between forms of spiritual light such as the halo and the nimbus. The work presents the perception of auras as a natural ability that can be developed through disciplined awareness. Drawing on the idea that thought and emotion produce changes in a personâÂÂs vibratory field, Grumbine offers lessons intended to help readers refine their perception and use this knowledge for self-development and healing.
The book, written by Erastus C. Gaffield and edited by J. C. F. Grumbine, presents a philosophical exploration of the relationship between the human soul and the physical body. Gaffield, a longtime collaborator of Grumbine and a member of the board of directors of his College of Psychical Sciences, describes the body as a temporary vehicle through which the spirit expresses itself in the material world. It argues that the soul interacts with the physical organism through ethical, mental, and spiritual processes, and that every thought and action influences an individualâÂÂs spiritual development. Human life is presented as a period of training in which the spirit learns to overcome material limitations and refine its character through self-control and higher aspirations. According to Gaffield and Grumbine, this process represents an ongoing evolution of consciousness that extends beyond a single lifetime. It concludes that the purpose of human life is to recognize the unity of all existence and to align personal will with universal spiritual law, allowing the individual to become a clearer expression of spiritual light.
Grumbine also published Universal Religion magazine and issued instructional compilations such as his Easy Lessons in Occult Science series on topics such as unfoldment and realization of Psychometry, Clairvoyance, and Inspiration. Several of his shorter pamphlets were later repackaged into collected editions and incorporated material from earlier standalone works.
In addition to his book publishing, Grumbine wrote regularly for a number of Spiritualist and metaphysical publications. In 1909 he headed "The Department of Psychical Sciences and Unfoldment," in The Stellar Ray, the continuation of his longtime collaborator Herbert A. ParkynâÂÂs magazine Suggestion. His articles also appeared in journals such as The New Ideal, Reality, Mind and The Sunflower.
Grumbine was married on September 2, 1886, to Helen Louise Gilbert, and had two daughters, Elizabeth and Beatrice. After his first wife's death in 1908, he married Mary Rose Otto in 1913, who he met while lecturing in Portland, Oregon. He and Mary spent several years traveling the world before settling down in her hometown of Portland.
Grumbine died in 1938. Funeral services were held at the Edward Holman and Son chapel in Portland, with committal services at Riverview Abbey crematorium.