Prentice Mulford

Mulford worked between 1834 and 1891 across writer, journalist and philosopher. This article rests on 102 published texts, 1 digitised documents and 15 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

• Name — Prentice Mulford • Born — 5 April 1834 • Birthplace — Sag Harbor, New York • Died — c. May 30, 1891 (aged 57) • Place of death — Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn • Occupation — Literary humorist, author • Movement — New Thought • Notable Works — *Thoughts are Things • The Law of Attraction

Prentice Mulford was born in Sag Harbor, New York, a seafaring village on Long Island, in 1834. He grew up amid tales of distant voyages and maritime adventure. In 1856, at the age of 22, he shipped out aboard the clipper Wizard for San Francisco, California, where he would spend the next 16 years. Life at sea proved to be grueling and unwelcoming, and his initial role cleaning the ship's pig-pen became symbolic of the indignities he endured. Later, aboard the whaling vessel Henry, Mulford worked as cook and steward despite lacking both aptitude and training, a role he eventually came to manage through determination and invention. His humorous reflections on this period express ideas of perseverance and mental power, which he would later incorporate into his New Thought writings. After ten months at sea, Mulford turned to gold mining in California, and spent several years in mining towns, trying to find his fortune in gold, copper, or silver. He worked as a butcher’s assistant, miner, cow-keeper, and schoolteacher. These years of hardship and solitude deeply influenced his thinking, leading him to explore the relationship between the mind and the conditions of life. He became convinced that one's inner state shaped one's outer reality and that mental discipline, rather than external effort alone, was the key to health, success, and fulfillment. After leaving the mining life, Mulford ran for a position on the California State Assembly in Sacramento. Although he was nominated, he ultimately lost the election.

Mulford’s literary career began when he was invited to write for The Golden Era in San Francisco. Although given an opportunity to mingle with major literary figures such as Bret Harte and Mark Twain, his extreme shyness, modesty, and lack of financial planning left him in poverty, with many San Franciscans naming him a "Bohemian" because of his disregard for money. Mulford states in his autobiography, "poverty argued for us possession of more brains" (Prentice Mulford's Story 130). He became known for his humorous style of writing and vivid descriptions of both mining life and life at sea. He joined Joaquin Miller in London in 1872 and edited Miller's breakout bestseller, Life Among the Modocs. Mulford later worked as a newspaper editor and contributor. He was assigned to Europe to report on international exhibitions, and in London he married a young English woman who was Catholic. In 1872, Mulford returned to New York City, where he became known as a comic lecturer, a poet and essayist, and a columnist for the New York Daily Graphic from 1875 to 1881.

• Illustration — Prentice Mulford's gravestone, with his famous quote, "Thoughts Are Things" The final phase of his life was marked by continued writing and a retreat into nature. His body was found lying in his boat, the White Crow, in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, on May 30, 1891, where it had been drifting for several days. He was buried in his family's private vault in Sag Harbor, and later moved to Oakland Cemetery there.

• Thoughts are Things (1889) • Your Forces and How to Use Them (In six volumes, published in 1888) • The Swamp Angel, 1888 • The Gift of Understanding • Gift of the Spirit (1904) 1st edition- with an introduction by Arthur Edward Waite • Gift of Spirit (1917 2nd revised ed.) • Thought Forces Essays Selected from the White Cross Library (1913) • The God in You, 1918 • Prentice Mulford's Story: Life by Land and Sea (1889)

Prentice Mulford was born on 5 April 1834 in Sag Harbor. Mulford held the nationality of United States. Mulford died on 27 May 1891 in Long Island. Mulford is buried at Oakland Cemetery.