The Beattie Mansion

The Historical Beattie mansion
7/20/2024

General Information

Equipment used: DVR, 3 IR video cameras, 1 full-spectrum video camera, personal audio recorders, digital camera, geophone, Mel Meter, surface temperature thermometer, 2 KII EMF meters, Rem Pod, Spirit Box, Tracer Wire, EMF Wire, and other personal EMF and recording equipment.

Investigators: Christy, Kathy and API Members: Brooke, Tammy, and Jill

A special thanks to our friends at API for inviting us along on this investigation!

Claims:

Eliza is most prominent spirit and roams the 2nd floor guarding the halls and targets men who she feels is invading her part of the house.
Armstrong paces the east wing halls and whistles.
A man in overalls and a white shirt is seen in the basement.
The sound of a piano playing can be heard when no one is playing it.
Child spirit heard laughing and yelling in 2nd floor room.
Child and adult-sized shadows and apparitions seen in the kitchen.
The basement is the most active with sounds in the halls and laughing. This taunts visitors.
People claim they have been touched, scratched and grabbed.
Electrical equipment has interference/battery drain
Contractors report hearing disembodied voices, seeing shadow figures and full apparitions

Historical/Factual/Relevant Info:

The building was built in 1854 for Armstrong and Eliza Beattie. Armstrong was St Joseph’s first banker and became mayor in 1857. He was elected four more times and eventually died in 1878 of cholera. Eliza died in 1880. They had no children. The home was sold to the Ladies Union Benevolent Association and it became a “home for the friendless and distressed population.”

Armstrong Beattie was born on Christmas Day in 1811 in Virginia. He married Eliza J. Snoddy in 1841 and moved to Huntsville, AL, where he was a merchant for ten years. They moved to NW Missouri in 1851 and eventually to Saint Joseph in 1852 where he began work as the town’s first full-time banker at his A. Beattie & Co. bank. He took his nephew, James M. Wilson, into partnership at his bank. After the death of his sister-in-law, her daughter, Mary Ann Wilson, was taken to live with the Beatties at their home on Main Street. She eventually married Rufus L. McDonald at the home in May 1855.

Armstrong Beattie was an active participant in the political life of St. Joseph, starting with election to the City Council in 1855 and 1856. The next year, 1857, he was elected mayor. He was re-elected four more times, in 1858, 1860, 1866, 1876. His place in the community was described in the St. Joseph Gazette of January 1, 1878:

‘No man has exercised a greater influence upon the character of business stability, integrity, and progress of our City than Mr. Beattie. We are all greatly indebted to him. He has made his way in the world by unswerving integrity, energy, industry, and business capacity. No man is more widely or favorably known among the bankers of the West. Excellent in his business judgment and foresight, his business has steadily increased … Whatever financial stress may burst upon the country we shall expect to see, pointing out a harbor of financial safety to all, the modest: A Beattie: Banker.’

Building in St Joseph, MO, where Armstrong Beattie had his bank

Mr. Beattie was active in his business until he died from a “sudden bout of cholera” on July 26,1878. He was given a public funeral which was attended by city and county officials and business leaders, who marched from his home on Main Street to the First Presbyterian Church at Seventh and Jule. Among the pall bearers were ex-Governor Willard P. Hall, Milton Tootle, Joseph C. Hull, James McCord, John C. Evans, and Silas McDonald. He was buried in Mt. Mora Cemetery. Some in present day claim that because his death was sudden, his death was suspicious. However, cholera is a bacterial disease spread from unsanitary conditions and causes severe diarrhea and dehydration. It can be fatal within hours due to fluid loss.

History states Armstrong’s wife, Eliza, had fallen down a flight of stairs in the home shortly after his funeral. She was injured and bedridden for two years before she died – likely from complications of her bedridden state. This could not be verified through newspaper or other documents at this time, however it is confirmed that she died in March of 1880 at age 64.

In 1895, the west wing was added with additional funding provided by the Hoagland family and the home was converted to the Memorial Home for the Aged. Subscribers to the original “Home for the Friendless” wrote to the St. Joseph News Press in 1895 expressing concern about the expansion and re-naming of the facility to a “Home for the Aged” because of concerns that a charitable organization and one for-profit could not exist under the same roof. The proposed “Home for the Aged” was going to charge a one-time fee for residents of $800 ($300 paid upon entry and the remaining $500 after 6-months). The concern was primarily in the name change in that a young mother seeking respite would not consider a home named for the aged. The name was indeed changed to “The Memorial Home for the Aged” and it remained as such for one hundred years.

IIn 1995, the Ladies Union Benevolent Association moved the Home for the Aged to another location, and it became a temporary home for the mentally ill and substance abuse addicts.

JMS Homes, Inc. had ownership of the property in 1999 and sold it to Barton L. Tollefson and Rebecca Pratt who eventually sold it to Mary E. Toebee in 2003. In 2004, the building was sold to private owners with plans for a bed and breakfast. Numerous contractors reported paranormal activity during renovations. They claimed they heard disembodied voices, saw shadow figures and full-bodied apparitions. The building was opened to paranormal investigations in 2017.

The Home for the Little Wanderers (Orphanage)

The "so they ran... they ran the orphanage" evp may have been talking about the actual orphanage in town that the Ladies Union Benevolent Association also ran! They started in 1894, around the time the name was changed from "The Home for the Friendless" to "The Memorial Home for the Aged." The orphanage was called "The Home for the Little Wanderers" (lol). It is still in operation today in the same building as in 1894 (called "The Noyes Home for Children"). The EVP was probably not referring to the Beattie mansion as an orphanage, as when it was a homeless shelter, it was meant for unwed mothers with children and other homeless (per an old newspaper article I found from 1895). These children would not be considered orphans and they had a whole other mansion in town for orphans. It's still cool how they would be mentioning this!!! Perhaps this was a way for them to clarify the rumor that the Beattie house was an orphanage?

Investigation Report

Our team arrived around 4:30 p.m. We introduced ourselves to the caretaker who was waiting for us in the old parlor of the mansion. The caretaker was getting ready to give our team a tour of the mansion. Christy went outside around 4:53 p.m. to tour the grounds of the property while the remainder of the team interviewed with the caretaker in the parlor room. Christy left her audio recorder with Kathy.

5:06 pm – During the tour, Kathy and the caretaker were on the first floor, by the front entrance and stairwell to the original mansion. During this time, Kathy’s audio recorder captured a voice stating, “So they ran the orphanage.” Christy’s audio recorder, which was in the parlor, also captured the same EVP. Still, Kathy’s recording was much louder, suggesting that her recorder was positioned closer to the entity that made the statement.

6:40 p.m. - Christy was still outside taking photographic sweeps of the property and mansion. The other four group members were in the parlor discussing the checkout times for the next day. During this time, Christy’s audio recording captured “whistling in the hallway.” About a minute later, the team started formulating a plan on where to begin investigating in the mansion. It was at this time that Christy’s audio recorder in the parlor room captured an EVP that said, “Hey, oh.”

8:23 p.m. All the investigators were in the living room, discussing matters related to Mrs. Battie. Christy stated she felt Mrs. Battie possibly lost a baby girl, and there may have been some feelings of sadness and guilt left. Christy’s audio recorder picked up a woman’s voice at this same time saying, “There is.” After hearing the EVP, Christy thought perhaps the voice was that of Mrs. Beattie, who was confirming what Christy had picked up on.

The team took a brief break and gathered in the main living room, where they sat casually and talked.

Christy’s audio recorder was still sitting in the living room on the floor next to the entrance to the hallway when it recorded a man’s voice saying, “Must have been an accident.” This man could have been referencing a particular part of the conversation taking place between the 5 group members when he said, “must have been an accident.”

Some of the team members left to grab a bite to eat. Christy and Kathy remained in the mansion, continuing to investigate. Christy’s audio recorder was placed on a desk down at the end of the first floor when it recorded a man’s voice saying, “Where did they go?” Christy and Kathy were not investigating close to where Christy’s audio recorder was located. About one minute later, Christy’s audio recorder also picked up a man’s voice saying, “wretch.” The definition of wretch is an unfortunate or unhappy person. The area where Christy had her audio recorder used to be part of the housing units for not

only the aging elderly, but later also for the mentally ill and substance use patients. All of this could also be a reason that a variety of different spirits linger at the old mansion.

Approximately 7 minutes after the last EVP was recorded. Christy’s audio recorder, still in the same location, picked up a “Man’s voice, then a tink and knock sound.” The man’s voice sounds as if it is coming from a distance. Around 14 minutes later, Christy’s audio recorder picked up a man’s voice saying, “Places yet.”

Kathy and Christy decided to continue their investigation into the new addition to the mansion. Christy picked up her audio recorder and kept it with her. While both were walking up the stairs from the first floor to the second floor, Christy’s audio recorder picked up a female voice that sounded like, “this way.” Both Christy and Kathy decided to do a sit-down at the very end of the hall, just outside the bedroom doors that used to belong to Mr. and Mrs. Beattie. After asking some questions, they thought they heard a voice coming from the end of the adjoining hallway. Kathy then

asked, “Are you trying to tell us something? Can you say that again?” Right after Kathy’s question, Christy’s audio recorder picked up a woman’s voice that sounds like, “Lost.”

Jill from API joined Kathy and Christy upstairs, and the three of them began investigating each of the rooms on the second floor. Kathy asked the question, “Do you wanna play hide and seek? Christy’s audio recorder captured a man’s voice saying, “Get out, get out now.” There are a few seconds between the first “get out” and the “get out now.”

The three ladies continued their investigation and decided to conduct a sit-down in the room, which was decorated to resemble a child’s room. Christy

says, “We used to have this motion-activated doll,” but then she stops because she hears an audible male voice that sounded like a “long go, nor, or oh” sound. Christy asked Jill and Kathy if they had heard it, but they had not. After listening to this EVP, the voice appeared to be in the same room as the three investigators, rather than out in the hallway. After about 30 minutes of doing a sit-down, Tammy and Brooke from API came up and joined us in the room. Around 10:54 p.m., Christy noticed the light ball activating on the corner of the dresser in the room. (See video)

11:34 p.m. – We were now conducting a sit-down in the middle of the hallway that connected the original mansion to the new addition. We set up a chair at the end of the hallway where Mrs. Beattie’s picture is said to hang. The caretaker shared a story about how they promised Mrs. Beattie that they would leave the light shining on her picture. Our group set up a little experiment to see if we could get a response by turning the light on again. We set up a motion-activated

music box a few feet away from the picture area. We then began asking questions. While we didn’t get a response for the light to come back on by itself, we did get a couple of activations on the music box. We even moved the music box from one end of the hallway to the other end to see if it would still activate, and it did.

Christy also conducted a brief 5-minute audio baiting session in the hallway. After recording the audio baiting session, she listened back to the audio and discovered a faint EVP of a man’s voice. It was a “class C” EVP thought, so the voice was not clear enough to be made out. Christy was letting Brooke listen to the faint EVP when all team members heard a “Loud Knock” down at the end of the hallway. After hearing the loud knock, one investigator asked, "What was that?" This was all captured on Christy’s audio.

Our team also spent time in the basement area conducting our investigation. Although the energy felt heavy in the basement, we did not obtain any recorded evidence.

At 3:30 a.m., Christy, Kathy, and Jill decided to call it a night and retire to the bunk room. Tammy and Brooke continued to investigate further into the evening.

The Next Morning – Christy turned back on her audio recorder, and during this time, she was able to record 4 more EVPs.

10:06 a.m. - While everyone was packing up, Christy’s audio recorder was sitting on the dresser in the bunk room. Her recorder picked up a male’s voice saying, “Get out.” Christy actually heard this male voice,

and after she heard it, she asked the team if they had said anything. No one had though. The EVP was very light and can barely be heard between Christy’s talking.

Christy was in the bunkroom getting ready when she commented out loud, saying, “I totally feel better after brushing my teeth and putting on some deodorant.” Then a whispery female voice is heard on Christy’s audio recorder saying, “Yes,” as if agreeing with Christy’s statement.

Christy and Brooke were in the bunk room gathering up the last of their stuff. Christy asked Brooke how she slept and if the sleeping machine had kept her up. Brook replied, “Only when I was first going to sleep, but it was not loud at all.” Right after Brooke says this, there is a whisper that Christy’s audio recorder picked up that says, “yeah,” as if agreeing with Brooke. “

Christy left her audio recorder in the parlor room while gathering up her things. Everyone was gone, loading their belongings into the vehicle. No one was in the room when this was recorded. In this recording, a very faint female whisper can be heard saying, “kids.”

API’s Previous Investigation & Their Apparition Photograph

Our friends at API had previously investigated the Beattie Mansion. During their investigation, they captured an amazing photo of what appears to be the apparition of a woman at the top of the stairs. This photo was taken with a digital Canon camera. The photo on the left is the original photo. The picture on the right has been altered by adding a blue square around the image.

This is the original apparition photo taken by API.

This is the apparition photo with the figure outlined.

Visit Afterlife Paranormal and Tammy Christine's Facebook Pages at:

Afterlife Paranormal Tammy Christine

Psychic Investigator’s Comments

I naturally love historical places, so I really enjoyed visiting the Beattie Mansion. When Kathy and I first arrived, we walked up to the back entrance and were greeted by our friends from API. There was a woman in spirit who peeked around the doorway to look at Kathy and me. She then quickly disappeared. Having no knowledge of the history of this location, I had no idea who she was, but seeing her

intrigued my curiosity a bit further.

I sensed that there were several spirits present at the mansion. I felt that some of these spirits were intelligent and had come from the mansion’s past. Some felt very protective of the mansion, and they did not want us there, but others felt welcoming.