Dr. Jim Jordan
Doctor Jim Jordon: (June 3, 1871, to January 28, 1962); James Spurgeon (Jim) Jordan, a famous Hoodoo doctor from Como, N.C who reportedly made a fortune conjuring. He said he never joined forces with “Ole Satan;” instead, “walked beside de Lord” rendering help to people in the measure needed (Johnson, 1963). He was successful in gaining the admiration of medical doctors, business and professional people, and law enforcement authorities. He also garnered an impeccable national reputation among conjure clientele as an honest man and powerful conjurer. He spent his entire life in Maney’s Neck Township, Hertford Country, North Carolina (Johnson).
Doctor Jim identified as a faith healer and for almost fifty years he had been a doctor of varying ability and acceptance. It is said that he wouldn’t take a penny from anyone seeking his help unless his services had proven effective. He was visited by patients with such diverse conditions that it became hard for folks to pigeonhole him into a specialty. In the 1890s when he first started treating people, most of the conjure doctors of the region were called trick doctors because they used an assortment of simple tricks to impress patients with their power to deal with the spirit world. On the other hand, Doctor Jordan was loosely described by a number of titles given American conjure doctors following the Civil War: root doctor, gummer doctor, gombre doctor, voodoo doctor, and horse sense doctor. In recent years he even was called the poor man’s psycho-doctor (Johnson, 1963).
Doctor Jim identified as a faith healer and for almost fifty years he had been a doctor of varying ability and acceptance. It is said that he wouldn’t take a penny from anyone seeking his help unless his services had proven effective. He was visited by patients with such diverse conditions that it became hard for folks to pigeonhole him into a specialty. In the 1890s when he first started treating people, most of the conjure doctors of the region were called trick doctors because they used an assortment of simple tricks to impress patients with their power to deal with the spirit world. On the other hand, Doctor Jordan was loosely described by a number of titles given American conjure doctors following the Civil War: root doctor, gummer doctor, gombre doctor, voodoo doctor, and horse sense doctor. In recent years he even was called the poor man’s psycho-doctor (Johnson, 1963).