TINGLEY, KATHERINE (1847–1929), was a leader of the Theosophical movement in the United States from 1896 to 1929. She led the organization that established the Point Loma Theosophical Community and was a well-known figure in early-twentieth-century American society.

Tingley was born Catharine Augusta Westcott in Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1847. According to her own account, she was a dreamy child who enjoyed walking in the woods or along the seashore, engrossed in her imagination. During the Civil War her father equipped and led a company of volunteers to fight for the Union. His unit was transferred to Virginia, and his family followed him. Tingley, as a teenager, witnessed the aftermath of battle, caring for wounded soldiers from both the Union and Confederate armies. Other details of her adolescent and early adult years are sketchy. She married three times, the third time to Philo Tingley. No children resulted from these marriages. By...