Lizzie Gannon

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Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Gannon (May 16, 1865 – after 1930) was an American hoaxer who as a teenager claimed to be a mystic and stigmatic haunted by visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, saints, and her dead brother.[1][2][3][a] Gannon gained notoriety in the early 1880s for suing a priest and bishop, claiming they had induced massive physical and emotional trauma since taking paper angels away from her, for which she was awarded one penny in damages by a court.

Biography[edit]

Gannon was born in 1865 in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish-American parents William H. Gannon and Ann M. Gannon (née Ryan).[4][5] She had an older brother, James F. Gannon, and older sister, Margaret Ann "Annie" Gannon. Her brother, who was listed as "insane" in the 1870 census,[6] died of tuberculosis in 1874, aged 16.[7] In the 1880 census, Lizzie was listed as being disabled by "hysteria."[8]

'Angels' lawsuit[edit]

In 1881, Gannon's parents sued Fr. John H. Fleming and Archbishop John Joseph Williams for $5,000 (equivalent to $158,000 in 2023) in Suffolk Superior Court.[9][2][10][b] Three years prior, they claimed Gannon began going into trances, during which she could not speak[1] unless Fleming or a few others placed their hands on her.[9][2][3][11] When she came out of them, she claimed to have received revelations from the Virgin Mary and to have seen saints[3] and the faces of those who died.[1]

Her family sent for Fleming, their parish priest, in the fall of 1878.[1][11] Fleming would often attend to the girl, often in the company of another priest, and the visits seemed to help her.[1] In one of her revelations, Gannon said that the Virgin Mary had a message for Fleming, that he was to write a book that told Gannon's story and of all of her visions.[2] Fleming declined to write the book.[2]

In the fall of 1879, Fleming visited the girl, who was entranced and holding in her hands two or three images of dolls or angels. They were about .75 inches long[3] and appeared to be cut from heavy paper.[1] Gannon said the images had been given to her by her dead brother, to whom she had been quite attached.[9][c] She also claimed to have received several other items from angels or spirits, including a letter written by the Virgin Mary.[2][d] Fleming persuaded the girl to give the images to him.[1][11]

During his visits, Fleming called in doctors and others to see if they could help the girl and she was diagnosed with hysteria[2][9][11] by Dr. Hodges.[3] A Dr. Porter suggested Gannon be sent to a hospital.[3][11] Over time Fleming came to believe the girl was faking, and so stopped visiting around Christmas in 1880.[1][9][3][11] Gannon's father tried to persuade Fleming to continuing visiting the girl.[1] When he was unsuccessful in that, almost a year after she had given up the dolls,[2][10] he asked for their return.[1][9][11] Fleming told her father that he lost them.[1][11] Gannon's father then appealed to Archbishop John Joseph Williams but the bishop sided with the priest.[1][9]

When the suit was brought in the summer of 1881, the girl reportedly had hardly spoken for a year.[1] She was bedridden and could not see or speak, according to her lawyers.[3] Others testified that they had seen her doing work around the home, out shopping with her mother in the neighborhood, and even speaking.[10] Her parents contended that her condition was brought about by the loss of the images.[1][3][9] Others contended that the suit was brought when Fleming refused to help the girl and her family seek publicity.[2] Before the case went to trial, Gannon's father published a book about his daughter.[3]

The jury found for Gannon and awarded damages of $0.01.[12]

Neither Lizzie or Annie ever married, and were living together in 1930.[13]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Gannon lived at 141 Hudson Street in Boston.[2]
  2. ^ Both clerics were represented by William Gaston, the former governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[9]
  3. ^ Early reporting on the matter said the girl claimed the Virgin Mary gave her the images.[1]
  4. ^ Gannon was also said to have given away the letter.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "A psychic case in court". The Boston Globe. July 16, 1881. p. 1. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "The Gannon Miracles". The Boston Globe. February 5, 1882. p. 10. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "I want my angels". The Boston Globe. April 3, 1883. p. 4. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  4. ^ ""I Want My Angels" – Little Lizzie Gannon's Pitiful Plea for Her Toys". The Boston Globe. 3 April 1883. p. 4. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  5. ^ Massachusetts, U.S., Birth Records, 1840–1915
  6. ^ 1870 United States Federal Census
  7. ^ Massachusetts, U.S., Death Records, 1841–1915
  8. ^ 1880 United States Federal Census
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Lizzie Gannons Angels". New York Times. Vol. XXXII, no. 9852. April 4, 1883. p. 1. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c "Lizzie's Paper Angels". The Boston Globe. April 9, 1883. p. 1. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h "Lizzie's Paper Angels". The Boston Globe. April 10, 1883. p. 6. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  12. ^ The Nation (929 ed.). J.H. Richards. April 19, 1883. p. 332. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  13. ^ 1930 United States Federal Census
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