Portrait of Abner Doubleday courtesy of the Saratoga Room, Saratoga Springs Public Library.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Abner Doubleday, best known as the man who did not invent baseball, is probably the most consequential figure in American history to have lived in Ballston Spa. He witnessed the beginning of the Civil War. He led an infantry division at the Battle of Gettysburg. He even accompanied Abraham Lincoln on a train ride prior to the Gettysburg Address. 

But there’s another side to the legendary general that few know about; a secret history that connects Doubleday to Buddhist sages, transcendentalists, and Russian mystics. 

“It’s a bit of an odd story,” began Benjamin Bogin, an associate professor of Asian Studies at Skidmore College. 

For Bogin, discovering that secret history began in July 1992, when Bogin’s uncle Rick Fields published the book, “How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America.” In that book is a chapter about the Theosophical Society, an organization founded by the Russian mystic Madame Blavatsky in 1875. The society helped introduce Buddhism and other Asian religions to America. Among the many Americans interested in these newly-introduced religions was none other than Civil War hero Abner Doubleday.

“He was a very philosophical and spiritually-inclined child,” Bogin said. During his military training, a young Doubleday wrote a letter to Ralph Waldo Emerson, the famed leader of the Transcendentalist movement. Around that time, transcendentalists became some of the first writers to translate and publish Buddhist literature for American audiences.

In his letter to Emerson, Doubleday expressed doubts about the morality of being a soldier. He also displayed a keen interest in Christianity and Asian religions. Doubleday was “looking to those areas as a source of illumination for other ways to understand the world and our place in it,” Bogin said.

Doubleday’s interest in religion and spirituality continued throughout his life. His experiences in war may have also steered him in the direction of the Theosophical Society. “Coming face to face with that degree of violence and death led him to search for meaning,” Bogin said.

Although Americans’ understanding of Buddhism was quite rudimentary at the time, the possibility of communicating with the dead held significant appeal for those who’d lost loved ones during the Civil War. 19th-century spiritualism became increasingly popular, especially in upstate New York, where the Fox sisters supposedly talked to spirits (they later revealed the whole thing was a hoax), and where Joseph Smith allegedly had visions that led to the creation of Mormonism. Even the mineral water spring that helped make Ballston Spa famous had its origins in “spiritual and visionary mystic traditions that were really widespread in the 19th century,” Bogin said.

Those traditions greatly interested Doubleday, who retired from the military in 1873 and some years later, became an official member of the Theosophical Society. When founder Madame Blavatsky departed the U.S. for India, Doubleday became the organization’s president.

As president, Doubleday apparently wrote quite a bit about the society and its beliefs. But those writings are closely guarded by leaders of the present-day society, who have not granted outsiders access to Doubleday’s letters and diaries. Nonetheless, obituaries at the time of Doubleday’s death in 1893 make references to his tenure with the Theosophical Society. One obituary even identified him as a Buddhist.

Despite his esteemed military career and lifelong interest in spiritual matters, Doubleday would become best known for a false story spread in the early 1900s that cemented the myth that he invented the game of baseball. In fact, there’s scant evidence Doubleday had anything to do with baseball.

“I think people shy away from Doubleday because only a fool would believe he invented baseball,” Bogin said. “No one says, ‘oh yeah, I’m from the same town as the guy who didn’t invent baseball.’” 

A bit of historical fake news has shrouded the true story of Doubleday’s role in America’s early exploration of spiritualism, mysticism, and Asian religions. That secret history, partially obscured due to scholars not having access to Doubleday’s writings while he was president of the Theosophical Society, is still being uncovered.

Tiffany Farrell and Maria Izzo, two additions to the Saratoga Central Catholic School leadership team. Photos provided by Aiden Lambert.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Central Catholic School (SCC) announced this week that it has made two additions to its leadership team. Starting this month, Tiffany Farrell will assume the role of High School Assistant Principal, and Maria Izzo ‘84 will take on the role of Middle School Assistant Principal.

“With their administrative assistance, SCC is poised to enter into a new era of major innovations in Catholic identity, curriculum and instruction, student achievement, increased enrollment, and fiscal stability,” said Principal Christopher Signor in a statement. 

Farrell is entering her eighth year at SCC, having previously spent ten years teaching at LaSalle Institute in Troy. At SCC, she has served as the Math Department Chair, head of the Math Department diocesan-wide, Testing Coordinator, Technology Liaison, and a member of the Diocesan Accreditation Steering Committee. Her daughter, Natalie, is an alumnus of SCC from the class of 2019, and her son, Aiden, will soon be entering the 11th grade at SCC.

Izzo is an alumna of the SCC class of 1984. She served as Dean of Students (2014 to 2023), Coordinator of Student Activities, and Social Studies Department Head. She has also chaired subcommittees for the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Accreditation and the Cognia Accreditation at SCC. Beyond her administrative and teaching roles, Maria has served as Coordinator of Alumni Affairs (1992 to 2023) and coached softball, basketball, and volleyball at SCC.

On June 18, nearly 300 high school seniors received their completion certificates from the F. Donald Myers Education Center at a ceremony held at the Saratoga Springs City Center. Photo provided by WSWHE BOCES.

John Ellis and Amanda Ellithorpe were recognized by the Saratoga Springs City School District Board of Education for their years of service. Photos via the district website.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — At the final regular business meeting of the school year on June 20, two outgoing Saratoga Springs City School District Board of Education members were honored by their colleagues. 

Amanda Ellithorpe, who had been with the board for three years, and John Ellis, who served for nine years, both received special recognition by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Patton and Board President Tony Krackeler.

To commemorate their tenures, Ellithorpe and Ellis will have their names engraved on bricks outside the main entrance to the high school. They also received gifts and cards from the board. 

“You’ve brought so much wise perspective and understanding of employees,” fellow board member Dr. John Brueggemann told Ellis. “We’re going to lose a lot of institutional memory and a lot of distinctive perspective when you go.”

“I always appreciated how both of you…you are who you are. There’s no veneer. I appreciate how real you are,” said board member Connie Woytowich.

Two new members will join the board for the upcoming school year: Deb Amory, a professor at Empire State University, and Matt Kopans, a development officer for Planned Parenthood of Greater New York. Krackeler said that Amory and Kopans would begin their orientation on June 21. Woytowich will also return to the board after winning reelection in May.