History & local legend
George Hare, a Norristown clairvoyant, is buried beside his wife Margaret in section R of Historic Montgomery Cemetery. In an advertisement published in the National Defender on May 22, 1860, he offered private consultations on Lafayette Street and claimed he could identify illnesses and the parts of the body they affected.
Hare served as a Union private in 1863–64, then resumed his work as a fortune teller and clairvoyant. He also practiced phrenology, which claimed to read personal traits from the shape of the skull.
In January 1919, his robe caught fire from a candle at home, and he later died of his injuries. His grave bears a veteran’s marker and the simple inscription ‘My husband.’
Sources
- Historical Society of Montgomery County, Erica Slason, George Hare’s life, grave and original 1860 advertisement
- National Defender, May 22, 1860, image of the clairvoyant’s own printed advertisement
- Historical Society of Montgomery County, cemetery history and grounds
- Historical Society, visitor entrance and address
