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Fay, William M. (1839-?)

Nineteenth-century medium who took part in stage demonstrations by the Davenport brothers, which were claimed to be caused by spirit agency. He was born in Darmstadt, Germany, and emigrated to the United States at age 11. Fay claimed that he initially experienced physical mediumship while residing with his widowed mother in Buffalo, New York, and that the phenomena led to his association with the Davenports. He took part in their performances, which involved rapid release from rope tying.

An exposure of Fay as fraudulent, published in the Toronto Globe during 1864, was later proved unfounded, since he was not in America at the time and had been confused with H. Melville Fay, husband of the claimed medium Annie Eva Fay.