Samuel Putnam Bancroft

For others with the same given name, see Samuel Putnam (disambiguation).
Samuel Putnam Bancroft
Born(1846-07-19)July 19, 1846
DiedOctober 11, 1929(1929-10-11) (aged 83)
United States
Other namesPutney Bancroft, Samuel P. Bancroft, S. P. Bancroft
Notable workMrs. Eddy as I Knew Her in 1870

Samuel Putnam Bancroft (July 19, 1846 - October 11, 1929) was an American Christian Scientist and an early student of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of The First Church of Christ, Scientist. In 1923 he wrote a memoir of his time with her entitled Mrs. Eddy as I Knew Her in 1870.[1][2]

Biography

As a young man Bancroft, who went by Putney,[3] worked as a shoe operative for Bancroft & Purington in Lynn, Massachusetts.[4] The factory was part-owned by his uncle Thomas Frederick Bancroft.[5] In 1870 he became interested in Christian Science after hearing about it from Daniel Spofford, an early student of Mary Baker Eddy's. Bancroft then studied under Eddy herself.[4] He paid $300 for the instruction, but Eddy promised to refund him if he could not "demonstrate" what she taught.[6] His uncle, a deacon of the First Congregational Church, was not supportive of his association with Eddy and once commented "My boy, you will be ruined for life; it is the work of the devil."[7][8]

For a short period, Bancroft tried unsuccessfully to establish his own practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts during 1874-1875. Bancroft advertised himself as a "Scientific Physician, Gives no Medicine."[9][10] Bancroft was generally loyal to Eddy,[11] but she had to warn him against idolizing her, telling him not to "make a Dagon of me" referring to the Philistine idol from the Bible.[12] Bancroft helped Eddy organize the Christian Science Association in 1876 and the Massachusetts Metaphysical College in 1881.[13] He wrote of Eddy, "[she] showed to her early pupils the loving-kindness of a mother, or the faithful devotion of a sister."[14] However, he eventually became inactive in the Christian Science movement.[14]

In 1923, Bancroft wrote and privately published the book Mrs. Eddy as I Knew Her in 1870,[2] which focused on the period between 1870 and 1875 when Eddy was writing Science and Health.[1] The book was never officially endorsed by the church, but is still read by some Christian Scientists today, and is sold independently.[15] There have been some claims that it was suppressed by the church;[16][17] however, the Mary Baker Eddy Library, which is owned by the church, calls it "one of the most important reminiscences of Eddy's early years as a practitioner and teacher of Christian Science."[18]

Publications

  • Mrs. Eddy as I Knew Her in 1870 (Boston: Geo. H. Ellis Press, 1923)

References

  1. ^ a b "Mrs. Eddy as I Knew Her in 1870". Annotated Bibliography of Christian Science.
  2. ^ a b James, Edward T; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S. (1971). Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume 1. Harvard University Press. p. 561. ISBN 978-0674627345
  3. ^ Peel 1971, p. 10.
  4. ^ a b Kennedy, Hugh A. Studdert. (1931). Mrs. Eddy as I Knew Her: Being Some Contemporary Portraits of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. The Farallon Press. pp. 168-172
  5. ^ Bates & Dittemore 1932, p. 139.
  6. ^ Powell, Lyman Pierson (1930). Mary Baker Eddy: A Life Size Portrait. The Macmillan Company. p. 123.
  7. ^ Eddy, Mary Baker. (1913). The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany. Boston. p. 60
  8. ^ Tucker, Ruth A. (1989). Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions, and the New Age Movement. Zondervan. p. 158. ISBN 0-310-25937-1
  9. ^ Schoepflin, Rennie B. (2003). Christian Science on Trial: Religious Healing in America. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 49. ISBN 0-8018-7057-7
  10. ^ Bates & Dittemore 1932, p. 149.
  11. ^ Wilbur, Sibyl. (1908). The Life of Mary Baker Eddy. Concord Publishing Co. p. 202
  12. ^ Peel 1971, p. 17.
  13. ^ Warneck, Robert (2009). Christian Healer (Amplified ed.). Christian Science Publishing Society. pp. 419–420.
  14. ^ a b Peel 1971, p. 123.
  15. ^ "Mrs. Eddy As I Knew Her In 1870". The Bookmark. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  16. ^ Bates & Dittemore 1932, p. 4.
  17. ^ Larson, Martin Aldred. (1985). New Thought Or a Modern Religious Approach. Philosophical Library. p. 149
  18. ^ "Samuel Putnam Bancroft". Mary Baker Eddy Papers. Mary Baker Eddy Library. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
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