William Henry Harrison Davenport was born in Buffalo, State of New York, on February 1, 1841, the son of a policeman and younger brother of Ira Erastus Davenport. The 9th President of the USA, in 1841, was "William Henry Harrison" so Davenport would have been named after him. The public of the day was just beginning to hear of the strange 'spirit rappings' of the Fox Sisters, and spiritualism was headed towards a surge of popularity previously unknown. Very soon, weird rumours started to fly about the brothers Davenport; stories of flying objects, séances, levitations, all connected with these two boys.

By 1855, the Davenports were touring the States giving séances in which manifestations were produced despite the mediums being tied in a helpless condition. A standard performance would consist of the brothers being tied hand and foot in a large wooden cabinet prior to the lights being turned out. There followed music from instruments left in the cabinet, rappings, and the movement of objects around the room.

Such phenomena caused a sensation, particularly in England in 1864. The tours undertaken by the Davenports were scarcely trouble-free; riots in plenty took place, often due to the insistence of the performers on the way they were tied, and several times the cabinet was smashed - Ira said, "Sharpers reaped a rich harvest selling bogus pieces of smashed Davenport cabinet. Wood enough was sold in small pieces to make ten times as many cabinets as the Davenport Brothers ever used …"

The famed escape artist and anti-spiritualist campaigner, Harry Houdini, corresponded with Ira Davenport from 1909 and, following his tour of Australia in 1910, visited Davenport, discussing openly the question of their powers. He relates (3) that

   "Ira positively disclaimed Spiritualistic powers in his talk with me, saying that he and his brother never claimed to be mediums or pretended their work to be spiritualistic."

   Nevertheless, their programmes stated that:-

By now the audiences and newspapers seem to have little interest in whether the Brothers were in cahoots with the spirit world. There was no speculation as to whether or not the Brothers remained tied or freed themselves; it was assumed that they escaped their bonds. Performances had degenerated into a battle of wits; more of a rope-tying competition than an exhibition of spirit phenomena. In this respect the Davenports' act was as much an escapology act as Houdini's, and in 1877 they met a defeat, not their first, but one which finally finished their careers.

   Mr Hurst stated to the audience that his subject complained of being brutally tied. He was satisfied that such was not the case, and if a medical man was present he would leave the matter to his judgment. (Loud uproar, and crises of "Dr. Hooper."). Dr Hooper went on the stage amid much cheering. He carefully examined the ropes, and declared that the tying was not excessive. He could put his finger between the ropes and the flesh. There was no stoppage of the circulation. Ira Davenport, in a loud voice to the Mayor: "I say untie it; I am the best judge whether the tying is brutal of not, Dr Hooper." - (Groans, howls, and cat-calls.) William Davenport, who looked very ill, also said the tying was painful and stopped the circulation.

   A scene of great confusion here ensued, Ira Davenport doggedly demanding that he should be untied, and His Worship declining to unloosen the knots. The audience were in an uproar, shouting that the Davenports should confess themselves beaten and apologise. Both brothers positively refused to go on, and persisted in the demand for liberation. William was at length let loose, and slackened the ropes on his brother. There was no reason whatever to believe that the tying had been unduly severe, and the spectators, satisfied of this, marked their approbation in continual groaning. After this had continued for some time, Mr Swanson, M.H.R, and Captain Brand went on the stage and began to tie the Brothers with the same knot, when again they positively refused to submit. The Brothers retired from the stage most ungracefully, amid tremendous howls.

   The excitement was only quelled by the good management of Messrs Fay and Davis. Professor Fay offered to take the place of either of the Brothers and allow Mr Hurst and Mr Hesketh to tie him, but the audience were so incensed against the Davenports that they would not allow it. The box office was threatened with demolition, but the affair ended orderly, and with few exceptions the people returned to witness Fay's séance and Davies's performance, which passed over very successfully, and both received a vote of thanks amid loud applause. The breaking up of the Company in consequence of the event is announced by Fay, Davies and Fay separating from the Davenports and travelling together. William Davenport publishes a medical certificate stating that he is not in a fit condition to continue the performance. It says he has been suffering from a rupture of a blood vessel in the lungs for two months. The knot which fixed the Davenports is a double noose, retied between the hands like handcuffs.

Mr E. D. Davies, who had appeared on the scene during the row, good humoredly addressing the audience from time, and, endeavouring to throw oil on the troubled waters, said it was not fair that Mr Fay and himself should suffer from the short-comings of the Davenports. Tom and Joe were two genuine characters, and he always left a town so that he could come back to it. (Cheers, laughter, and interruption). Those who chose could have their money back. The curtain fell amid general confusion. A row was threatened for a short time at the box office, but it passed off quietly, and when the curtain rose after the intermission, it was seen that very few of the original audience had taken back their money. Mr Davies proceeded with his ventriloquial performance, excelling all his previous efforts. His imitations were loudly applauded, and harmony and good humor seemed to be perfectly restored. Professor Fay afterwards carried out his dark séance under the supervision of the Mayor and Mr Hesketh with perfect success. The instruments were played and floated about the hall, his coat was taken off and put on, and other marvels exhibited to the general mystification. The Mayor then moved a vote of thanks to Professor Fay and Mr Davies for the really capital evening's entertainment which they had afforded under difficult circumstances.

Given his illness, and the resignation with which his death was predicted, it seems curious that only months earlier, on February 1, 1877, William married in the town of Invercargill. His bride's name, was Miss Eva Norah Lang Davies. She was aged 19, acted as the "Solo Pianiste" travelling with the company, and was also the daughter of ventriloquist Davies. In later newspaper advertisements she was billed as Mrs W. H. H. Davenport.

What was the source of William's illness? According to a lengthy and fascinating article written by none other than Ira's great-grandson, Ormus "Doc" Davenport (4), William had been married previously, and in secret, to the flamboyant and scandalous star of the gaslight stage, Adah Isaacs Menken.

William Fay soon afterwards settled in Hay, New South Wales to run a general store, and he would tour with the magician Alfred Silvester for a few months (further information on his life is at Chapter Five of the Silvester story. Eventually he retired to Kew, Victoria, and became an Australian citizen in 1915 before his death in 1921. His descendants still live in Australia. Ira Davenport returned to the U.S. on October 20, 1877, four months after his brother's death. (3) A brief attempt, by William Fay and Ira Davenport, at reviving the show in 1894 was a dismal failure. Ira died on July 8, 1911 and is buried in Mayville, New York.

On June 4, 1983, I travelled to Rookwood with my friend Peter Rodgers and, after some searching around, we found the tombstone of the old ghost raiser. The grass was high, but the stone and the ones about it are intact, and interesting to compare with the 1910 photo. Davenport's grave is sandstone; no longer white, the inscriptions are wearing away, some scarcely decipherable.

The main inscription reads:-

On the reverse side is inscribed:-

Many years later, in 2000, we again visited Rookwood with Joe Nickell, who was writing an article for the Skeptical Inquirer magazine (7). On both occasions I was struck by a discrepancy in the stories of William's death in Australia, which we now examine.

Searching on-line, or reading books concerning the Davenport Brothers, one finds variations on the following statement:-

This statement raises a number of immediate issues. Firstly, William's gravesite is not a 'magnificent' memorial. It is a simple horizontal stone inscribed with text (the upright headstone visible in the Houdini photographs is from a neighbouring grave and does not form part of the Davenport grave.) Furthermore, there is no engraving of ropes, bells, cabinets or anything else on the stone. Although the text is worn, it is still sufficiently clear to be seen; no other engraving marks are remotely visible.

So the question arises, is this statement correct? If this was a stone ‘erected by his loving wife’, was there also a 'monument', possibly separate to his gravestone, erected by Ira Davenport in William's honour, and if so, where is it located?

In an attempt to trace primary sources for the claims about the monument, the two most likely sources are the website at www.prairieghosts.com, from which it appears that most other online article have based their remarks. The site's author, Troy Taylor, advises that his source was Rosemary Ellen Guiley, who authored the "Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits". Unfortunately I have been unable to make further headway in tracking this to its source.

Another online reference comes from William George Alma, Australian magic historian, whose extensive collection of research is held at the State Library of Victoria. The S.L.V searchable image website returns many interesting images of the Davenports, along with a biography which repeats the 'monument' story, (see, for instance, http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/miscpics/gid/slv-pic-aab12631/1/mp015953 ) but examination of the files in the Alma Conjuring Collection reveals no comments about the monument, let alone any clues to the primary source. Neither do Alma's writings in his magazine, the "Magic Circle Mirror" (8).

However, there is a document which gives us some clues, if not a final answer, to the mystery of the Davenport monument. In "Cemeteries in Nineteenth-century New South Wales: Landscapes of Memory and Identity" (9), author Lisa Anne Murray has this to say about the authority of cemetery trustees at Rookwood Cemetery :-

It becomes clear that Mrs Eva Davenport was the primary figure in a dispute over the monument.  Attempts by the Church of England Trustees in Rookwood Necropolis to exclude such popish tendencies were not always successful. In 1877 the Church of England Trustees initially rejected Mrs Davenport's proposal for a family monument because the inscription was 'improper'. The Trustees asserted that in conjunction with the monument, the inscription represented 'Spiritism', and 'May he rest in peace' was a prayer for the dead. The Church of England Trustees clearly wanted no hint of popery amongst its monuments. So incensed was Mrs Davenport that she wrote to the Minister of Lands complaining about the rejection. The Attorney General advised the board of trustees that a ruling in 1838 concerning a tombstone inscription meant that the Trustees had to accept Mrs Davenport's inscription.   [18 & 20 September 1877. Anglican Trustees' Minute Book, Rookwood Necropolis, 1868-1894 (vol.1) Anglican Office, Rookwood Necropolis]"

While these comments shed much valuable light on the tale, and confirm that there was, indeed, a dispute concerning the grave, it does not entirely rule out the possibility that a separate engraved memorial was erected somewhere; and the correspondence was undertaken by Mrs Davenport, not by William's brother, Ira.

Curiously, a searchable CD of Rookwood grave inscriptions does list the known Davenport grave, but it fails to quote the poem, and also omits the phrase "may he rest in peace"; the same Popish phrase objected to by the Trustees. (10)

Once again, gaining access to primary sources is currently proving very difficult. Approaches to the Anglican Office at Rookwood have been met with statements to the effect that the Trustees books, if indeed they are still held at the office, would not be made available to members of the public (one assumes author Lisa Anne Murray did not fall into this category!). The possibility that Ministerial correspondence still exists will require further investigation via the State Records Office of NSW.

Mrs Eva Davenport would go on to have an extensive and successful career as an actress and singer, including originating the role of "Josephine" in Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore in Australia. She re-married, to Thomas Neil O'Brien, and died in September 1932, at White Plains New York.

Sydney Morning Herald, Wednesday 19 September 1877 (also, a near-identical report in Maitland Mercury, 22/9/1877). Report from New South Wales Parliament:-

   Cries of "Adjourn" being made by several hon. Members, Sir John Robertson moved "That this House do now adjourn." Mr Buchanan wished to take advantage of this motion to bring under the notice of the House and the public, what he considered a very scandalous business, which called for public condemnation. He believed that, a short time ago, Mr. William Henry Harrison Davenport, one of the Davenport Brothers, died in Sydney and was buried in the Church of England portion of the Necropolis. His widow naturally proposed to erect a tombstone over his grave. She proposed further to inscribe on the tombstone the line "May he rest in peace and the following verse, written by the deceased's older brother, Mr. Ira Davenport. -

   "Dear brother I would learn from thee,

   And hasten to partake thy bliss;

   To thy world O welcome me,

   As first I welcomed thee to this."

   In accordance with the regulations of the cemetery, Mrs. Davenport submitted these lines to Mr. S. H. Pearce, one of the trustees, who, with great vulgarity and rudeness, struck his pen through them, ejaculating, "We can't allow this; we can't have any prayers for the dead" and in an offensive and determined manner refused to allow the widow to exercise her rights over her own property. Mrs. Davenport wrote to the Colonial Secretary detailing these circumstances. Not receiving any reply she again addressed the Colonial Secretary, pointing out that on a tombstone in the cemetery there was this line, "May he rest in peace" and that on another there was a verse similar to that which Mr. Ira Davenport wished to have place on his brother's tombstone. In the meantime the matter came under the notice of the Attorney-General who, in a memorandum which he addressed to the Colonial Secretary, and which did him infinite credit, characterised Mr. Pearce's conduct as unwarrantable, and urged that Mrs. Davenport should have the permission she asked for granted without delay.

   The next letter in the correspondence was issued from the Lands Office, reciprocating the sentiments of the Attorney-General, and condemning the conduct of Mr. Pearce. Then Mrs. Davenport again addressed Mr. Pearce, asking him to reconsider his decision with regard to the matter. In reply to that, Mr. Pearce wrote acknowledging the receipt of Mrs. Davenport's letter, and stating that the original plans and documents must be again submitted to him before he could reconsider his decision as to what he had previously decided was improper. He [ ie, Buchanan] contended that such conduct on the part of Mr. Pearce was intolerable, and that Mrs. Davenport should have been approached with sympathy and respect. He could not find words sufficiently strong to express his opinion of the conduct of this man Pearce.

The motion was agreed to, and the House adjourned at twenty-three minutes to six o'clock until 4 o'clock this day (Wednesday).

The grave location is SECTION E, Grave 848 in the Anglican (Church of England) section.

Come up through the Lidcombe entrance, up to the road which goes in a large circle.

Look for a road on your left, clearly signposted "William Drive." This runs North from the Circle Rd.

Go along William Drive about 250 meters.

Look for posts marking sections on the right.. There is a track running between the borders of section "E" and section "F", on the right hand side of the road. (There is also a sign indicating Section EE there, which is accessed from this track and lies further on.)

Go down the track, only about 20-30 metres in. On the right hand side of the track (on the side facing away from the Olympic Stadium), about four graves in, look for a low-lying extended pyramid shape. The grave is no longer white (as in this photograph).

As at 2019, there may be signage indicating that entry is not permitted due to the poor state of the graves in that area.

Melbourne General Cemetery, Church of England grave number NN214, 215. Enter by south gate to South Avenue. Turn off South Ave into path directly opposite the grave of Amalia Hirshfeld which is on the right hand side of South Ave coming from the south gate.

(1) "My Magic Life" by David Devant

(2) A full account of Kellar, Fay and the Davenports, including their Australasian tours can be found in "Kellar's Wonders", by Mike Caveney and Bill Miesel, Mike Caveney's Magic Words, 2003.  ISBN: 0-915181-38-X

(3) "A Magician Among the Spirits" by Harry Houdini

(4) "The Davenport Brothers and Adah Isaacs Menken", Ormus Davenport, The Linking Ring magazine (International Brotherhood of Magicians), December 1993.

(5) Town & Country Journal, July 7, 1877, page 9.

(6) "Magical Nights At The Theatre" by Charles Waller / pub. Gerald Taylor

(7) "Mysterious Australia" by Joe Nickell, Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 2001.

(8) "Magic Circle Mirror, volume 4, 1974

(9) "Cemeteries in Nineteenth-century New South Wales: Landscapes of Memory and Identity" , by Lisa Anne Murray.

Available from the Royal Australia Historical Society library, Call Number CR Q 929.1 NEW.

(10) Rookwood Cemetery Transcriptions; Society of Australian Genealogists.

(11) via Trove online research, National Library of Australia

Particular thanks to Leann Richards of the History of Australian Theatre (HAT) Archive at http://www.hat-archive.com ,

Mr Michael H-W., and Timothy Hyde.

Additional information from 'Beware Familiar Spirits' (John Mulholland) and 'Houdini A Pictorial Life' (Milbourne Christopher)