Biography
SUE ELLA BRADSHAW was born in Illinois to Quaker parents. In her early twenties she moved to California partly in hopes of improving her failing health, but to no avail. On a trip to Philadelphia in 1884 to visit relatives, she heard of Christian Science, obtained a copy of Science and Health, and after reading it cover to cover three times in two weeks, was healed. On her way back home, Sue Ella stopped in Chicago and had Primary class instruction from Mrs. Eddy’s student Caroline D. Noyes, a pioneer worker in that area. Miss Bradshaw quickly put what she was learning into practice, healing two family members upon her return to San Jose. Over the next three years, she studied in three of Mrs. Eddy’s classes, including a Normal class in 1886. She practiced and taught Christian Science in San Jose, organized the California Metaphysical Institute, and was the first teacher on the Pacific Coast listed in The Christian Science Journal. Miss Bradshaw moved to San Francisco in 1887, where she continued to practice and teach, and in 1895 helped organize First Church of Christ, Scientist, where she served as First Reader until 1902. After the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco demolished their building site, Sue Ella Bradshaw was instrumental in rebuilding the church.
