Ongoing work of The Mary Baker Eddy Library team includes publishing digitally all of Eddy's correspondence.
Of course, Mrs. Eddy's vast correspondence was either hand-written or -- with the invention of the typewriter in 1870 -- typed by her secretaries, who over the years included her students such as Calvin Frye, Irving Tomlinson and Adam Dickey. Additionally, the faster method of telegraph was used when the matter was urgent.
Some research reveals that letters were either hand delivered or sent via the United States Postal Service, which used trains to carry the mail at a distance. Interestingly, Benjamin Franklin was this institution's first Postmaster General, a position he had accepted in July 1775. At that time, George Washington had sought to champion "the free flow of information between citizens and their government as a cornerstone of freedom" (thoughtco.com article by Robert Longley, updated July 28, 2021).
While we might think that with tools such as email, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and SMS available to us today, communication has become speedier, we might ponder the speed at which Mrs. Eddy responded and corresponded with two prospective students: Mrs. Ruth Ewing, wife of the US District Attorney for Illinois, and a Miss Willsi. Here is what the article "From the Papers: A letter that launched two careers" on the Mary Baker Eddy website reports:
Ellen Brown Linscott, who had taken Eddy’s Primary class in 1883 and Normal class in 1885, was actively healing and teaching in Chicago. On August 19, 1886, she wrote this in a letter to Eddy:
I think I wrote you about two ladies who wish to join your first class in Sept. One of them Mrs. Ruth or rather, Mrs. W. G. Ewing is the wife of the United States District Attorney for Illinois. Just such a woman as you want, one who is able to talk, write, and will make a fine healer too. The other is Miss. Willsi a lovely character, and both are people of social position: Will write you their addresses….1
The class Linscott referred to began on August 30, 1886—only 11 days later. Nevertheless, on the day the class began, both Ruth B. Ewing and Lucinda Willsie were in attendance. And they both went on to have significant careers that contributed much to the cause of Christian Science over the following four decades.
It seems these ladies were on fire and time disappeared in their quest to take forward steps in Christian Science.
"All God's servants are minute men and women." (Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 158: 19 (only))
Julie Swannell
