{{Theosophy
The Theosophical Society in America (Hargrove branch) was an organization that developed from the
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...
William Quan Judge
William Quan Judge (April 13, 1851 – March 21, 1896) was an American mystic, esotericist, and occultist, and one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society.
Biography
Judge was born in Dublin, Ireland. When he was 13 years old, ...
to form a separate organization distinct from the organization based in Adyar, headed by Annie Besant. After the death of
Judge
A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
, Ernest Temple Hargrove, who was Judge's secretary at the time, found evidence that Judge had intended a successor. In 1898,
Katherine Tingley
Katherine Augusta Westcott Tingley (July 6, 1847 – July 11, 1929) was a social worker and prominent Theosophy (Blavatskian), Theosophist. She led the Theosophical Society Pasadena, American Section of the Theosophical Society after W. Q. Judge ...
was elected president of the TSA, with Hargrove's initial support. Hargrove later came to disagree with Tingley, and later broke away with roughly 200 other members to form the Theosophical Society in America. A.H. Spencer and later Hargrove became president of this new organization. The society was oriented towards W.Q. Judge's principles. Their headquarters were located in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, while
Tingley
Tingley is a suburban village in the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, Northern England, forming part of the parish of West Ardsley. Tingley forms part of the Heavy Woollen District. It is situated between the cities of Leeds and Wakefield. ...
relocated hers to
Lomaland
Lomaland was a Theosophical community in Point Loma in San Diego, California, from 1900 to 1942. Theosophical Society leader Katherine Tingley founded it in 1900 as a school, cultural center, and residential facility for her followers. The Am ...
in Point Loma, California. In 1906 or 1907 this branch including Hargrove gave Robert Crosbie a deed of foundation to found a lodge in Los Angeles. Hargrove can thus be seen as an obstetrician to the United Lodge of Theosophists. The organization was renamed "The Theosophical Society" in 1908.
Original members of this branch included: Dr. Archibald Keightley and his wife Julia van der Planck (a.k.a. "Jasper Niemand"); Noted Sanskritist Charles Johnston and his wife Vera Jelihovsky Johnston, a niece of
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international foll ...
; Clement Acton Griscom Jr. and his wife Genevieve Ludlow Griscom (a.k.a. "Cavé"); Henry Bedinger Mitchell and his brother John F. B. Mitchell. A number of branches of the organization existed throughout North America, as well as several in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and Venezuela. The publishing arm of this branch, known as The Quarterly Book Department published a great deal of theosophical literature until the late 1930s. Their main publication was the journal ''The Theosophical Quarterly'' (1903–1938). The last issue announces the cessation of publication and the onset of a period of "indrawal" of the society. Hargrove died in on April 8, 1939. The last annual convention of this branch was held in New York in 1943, where the members agreed to formally disband and entered into "indrawal".