Biography
EMMA EASTON NEWMAN’s parents had been drawn to Christian Science through their own healings, and that of Emma, in 1888. In 1889, they entered Mrs. Eddy’s March Primary class at the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, receiving permission from Mrs. Eddy to have Emma, then only 17, attend with them, and were surprised when their daughter was unexpectedly given the degree of C.S.B. At 19, Emma became a Journal-listed Christian Science practitioner. She was invited to attend Mrs. Eddy’s last class in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1898, and was awarded the degree of C.S.D. In 1899, the Christian Science Board of Directors, with the approval of Mrs. Eddy, encouraged Miss Easton to organize a Christian Science church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. William P. McKenzie and Miss Easton were designated First and Second Readers. In 1904, Emma married Rolf Newman of Riverside, California, and in 1910 the couple returned to his hometown. In March 1919, Emma Easton Newman taught her first class in Los Angeles, after which she held a class annually. One of her students was Mary Baker Glover Billings, the granddaughter of Mrs. Eddy.