frequently traveled to serve as an unofficial ambassador for Wisconsin to the federal government and lobbyist for its interests. Later in his life Tallmadge became a spiritualist, and was convinced of the existence of the afterlife. He had previously been a believer in premonitions, and claimed he had one that resulted in him narrowly escaped death aboard the USS Princeton when a cannon exploded and took the lives of five people. In the 1840s, he began to claim that he was visited by spirits, and he authored introduction to Charles Linton's The Healing of the Nations, a book which Linton claimed had been dictated to him by ghosts. He also wrote an Appendix to the first volume of Spiritualism by John W. Edmonds and George T. Dexter. After the death of John C. Calhoun, Tallmadge claimed to be visited by his spirit, and said that it could communicate with him. Tallmadge was also reported to be a believer in other supposed spirit communications, including the floor and table rappings that typically accompanied séances. Personal life In 1824, Tallmadge was married to Abigail Lewis Smith (1804–1857), the daughter of Judge Isaac Smith of Washington, New York. In 1864, he married Clementine Ring. Tallmadge's children were: Isaac Smith Tallmadge (b. 1824), who became a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. William Davis Tallmadge (1826–1845), who died soon after his graduation from Union College. Grier Tallmadge (1827–1862), a United States Military Academy graduate and captain in the United States Army. He died at Fort Monroe during the American Civil War. Louisa Tallmadge (1829–1830), who died young. Mary Louisa Tallmadge (1831–1893), the wife of first Napoleon Boardman of Wisconsin, and second William Baldwin of Philadelphia. Laura Tallmadge (1833–1889), the wife of Dr. William T. Galloway of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. John James Tallmadge (1835–1897), the postmaster of Peebles, Wisconsin, and the Peebles agent for the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac Railroad Julia Tallmadge (1835–1919), the wife of bank president Augustus G. Ruggles of Fond du Lac. Emily Bartlett Tallmadge (1840–1900), the wife of James D. Tallmadge of Chicago. In his later years, Tallmadge resided in Harmonia, a planned community for spiritualists in Battle Creek, Michigan. He died in Battle Creek on November 2, 1864, and was buried at Rienzi Cemetery in Fond du Lac. The first person to be buried at Rienzi Cemetery was Tallmadge's son William, who died in 1845. In 1853, Tallmadge donated