Robert Peel starts his biography "on the uplands of Bow" (Mary Baker Eddy: Years of Discovery, p. 3). Wikipedia reports that: "The town's name comes from its establishment along a bend, or "bow", in the Merrimack River. The first census, taken in 1790, reported 568 residents." Bow lies south of Concord. Tilton, where her sister Abigail lived with her husband, lies further north again. Boston is to the south east. Today, you can drive from Bow to Boston in about an hour and a quarter. The trip from Bow to Tilton is just under half an hour. Photos of Bow today show forested areas and a beautiful river. There are at least six properties for sale in the area as I write, and the summer temperatures are rising, as indicated on the chart below.
As Mary Baker grew, her father insisted on his "relentless theology" (23) while her mother was "the reconciler" (ibid). Peel recounts a letter from 1844 from Mrs. Baker to her youngest daughter, which encourages Mary to "think as kindly of your Father as you can... [because] he loves you and you are as near and dear to him as any child he has" (ibid).
The young Mary certainly had a loving family around her in those early years.
Julie Swannell
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