The Franklin Merrell-Wolff Fellowship

As she relates in her autobiography, The Trees and Fields Went the Other Way (1974), Evelyn Sybil Mary Eaton led a colorful and adventurous life. She was born in Switzerland to Canadian parents; after her father was killed during the First World War, the family moved to England, where Evelyn enrolled at Heathfield School in Ascot. She later studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. A brief romance with a married University of London court clerk produced her only child, and with a baby to support, Evelyn turned to serious writing.

This file contains twenty-three letters to Franklin Wolff and his wife Gertrude from Doroethy (Young) Leonard, who is the daughter of Wolff’s stepson, James Briggs. Most of these letters relate ongoing details of her life and/or that of her family. (28 pages)

Ron Leonard wrote his doctoral thesis on Franklin Merrell-Wolff’s philosophy, which was subsequently published by SUNY Press as The Transcendental Philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff (1990). The letters in this file concern his dissertation, a report on family (Mr. Leonard married Wolff’s step-granddaughter, Doroethy), some questions for Wolff concerning his philosophy, and includes the promotional copy for the SUNY Press publication. (7 pages)

Joan Price received her doctorate from Arizona State University and is professor emeritus of philosophy at Mesa Community College. A long-time student of Franklin Wolff, her published works include Ancient and Hellenistic Thought, Medieval and Modern Philosophy, Philosophy Through the Ages, The Shaman's Dreamstone, Climbing the Spiritual Ladder, Truth is a Bright Star: A Hopi Adventure, and Sacred Scriptures of the World Religions: An Introduction.

At the suggestion of Dr. Vijayendra Pratap, the program coordinator of the Yoga Research Society invites Wolff to present a paper at their first annual conference to be held in October 1975. Due to impending cataract surgery, Wolff must decline. Wolff sends a tape-recorded message to the next year’s conference, which one of the Society’s students transcribed so that it could be read at the conference. Unfortunately, no record can be found of which recording was sent. (6 pages)

Erma Pounds was an interesting influence in Franklin Wolff’s life. In the early 1960s, Erma organized a small spiritual group in Arizona whose practice commingled elements of Buddhism, Theosophy, American Indian traditions, as well as other esoteric philosophies In 1974, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, along with Bardor Tulku Rinpoche, visited Erma and her students.

Paul and Lee Perella were longtime students of Franklin Wolff, and whom—as detailed here—Wolff had backed in one of their business ventures. This correspondence primarily pertains to the Perella's attempts to sustain various enterprises, none of which were successful. (16 pages)

Roger and Patricia Olds were siblings who visited the Wolffs at their Lone Pine ranch. Roger lived in Chicago, and Patricia, who had a Masters in Reading Education, was an elementary teacher in Waltham, Mass. before she became a marketing specialist for Hewlett Packard. Eventually she took the position of librarian at the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers in New York City. Patricia was a friend of John Lilly, and as he recounts in his introduction to the Julian Press edition of Pathways Through to Space, it was she who originally introduced Mr.

In this note, the editor of Science of Mind Magazine, John Niendorff, writes to ask permission to publish excerpts of Pathways Through to Space in the monthly journal. Mr. Niendorff also relates his own experience with this book. (1 page)

In this note. Jim Mugridge inquires whether a visit would be possible. (2 pages)