Article January 11, 1930 Issue

A certain doctor has been a bitter antagonist of Mary Baker Eddy...

Frank C. Ayres, Committee on Publication for the State of Indiana,—Elkhart

Indiana State Dental Association Bulletin

A certain doctor has been a bitter antagonist of Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science for many years, frequently referring to her in his favorite lecture on "Quackery." There was, therefore, no excuse for his many inaccuracies in his account of her life, as recently published in your Bulletin. Strong prejudice frequently leads to misstatements. That such is the case with this doctor can be readily shown.

He pictured Mrs. Eddy as left in a pitiful condition after the death of her husband, George W. Glover. The facts are that Mr. Glover was a successful contractor at the time of his death in 1844, a member of St. Andrews Lodge No. 10 and of Union Chapter No. 3 of Royal Arch Masons. His dying request was that his fellow Masons should escort his wife safely to her father's home in New Hampshire from Wilmington, North Carolina. This they gladly did. They also aided her to sell her husband's business, from which she secured a certain sum of money. A large portion of the estate was in slaves, but Mrs. Eddy refused to sell human life and they were soon set free. Not only did these fellow Masons show her every consideration, but her family received her into the home with open arms, where she lived continuously, a beloved member, for many years. She married Daniel Patterson, after a widowhood of nine years, to make a home for her only son.

The doctor's story continued: "Then the Civil War came on and he [Daniel Patterson] served in that war, and while he was in Libby Prison she divorced him." This also should be compared with the true record. Dr. Patterson did not serve in the Civil War, but he was mistakenly captured as a spy and taken to Libby Prison. Mrs. Eddy, instead of divorcing him at this time, made a journey to Washington to intercede for him, taking with her letters from the Governor of New Hampshire to President Lincoln. This set official action in motion, and led to his release within a short time. She lived with him for several years afterward, finally divorcing him in 1873. (See page 314, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany.)

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