Biography
THOMAS W. HATTEN acquired a copy of Science and Health when living in Irving, Kansas, in 1886, and while reading it began an earnest study of this new religion. In 1889, he enrolled in Mrs. Eddy’s March Primary class at the Massachusetts Metaphysical College and soon became a Christian Science practitioner in Belleville, Kansas. In February 1892, Thomas moved to Boston, where he became affiliated with the Church’s publishing activities. In 1894, he and James A. Neal were chosen to guard the cornerstone of the Original Edifice of The Mother Church for three stormy nights, and it was in the names of these same two young men that Mrs. Eddy secured the copyright of the Church Manual when it was first issued in 1895. Thomas Hatten was made a Trustee of The Christian Science Publishing Society in 1898, a position he held until 1917. He also served as a member of the Committee on Business, which among other duties helped find helpers for Mrs. Eddy’s home, and he himself worked in her household from November 1901 to January 1902.