Samuel Putnam Bancroft | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 19, 1846 |
| Died | October 11, 1929 (aged 83) United States |
| Other names | Putney Bancroft, Samuel P. Bancroft, S. P. Bancroft |
| Notable work | Mrs. 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]
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]