Ira, along with his brother, William, created the famous Spirit Cabinet act that helped popularize and propagate Spiritualism in the United States and Europe in the late 19th Century. The Davenport Brothers were the first famous stage mediums. The brothers could also be considered among the very first escape artists as their methods for conjuring the spirits employed special rope ties for quick release -- methods Houdini would study and use himself.
During Houdini's visit, Ira is reported to have said, "Houdini, we started it, you finish it."
Ira died the following year and Houdini did indeed set out to "finish" fraudulent spiritualistic practices in the 1920s.