John W. Edmonds was an eminent nineteenth-century public figure. His brother Francis William Edmonds won public recognition as an artist-painter. Through his own public actions, John by 1852 had become prominent as a spiritualist. Francis was publicly accused of embezzlement in 1855. The charges were not substantiated and he was not charged with any crime.

Compared to his brother John, Francis seems to have been more concerned about public perceptions. About 1866, John recounted:

He {Francis} was a strict member of an Episcopal Church and a vestry-man. He was very much disturbed by my advocacy of Spiritualism; not merely because of a supposed conflict with his religious notions, but also because of its apprehended effect upon my judicial position, as it was threatened to introduce into the Legislature a motion to remove me from office… .^

In mid-nineteenth century New York, perhaps artistic competition prompted more sensitivity to public perceptions than did political competition.