Biography
HIRAM S. CRAFTS was Mrs. Eddy’s first student. They met as boarders in the home of Mr. and Mrs. George D. Clark of Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1866. From the first, Hiram was an eager listener to Mrs. Eddy (or Mrs. Patterson as she was then known), and when he and his wife returned to their home in East Stoughton (Avon), Massachusetts, they invited Mrs. Eddy to accompany them and teach Mr. Crafts how to heal. In order to do so, Mrs. Eddy began to systematize her ideas, and in the spring of 1867, the trio left the countryside for nearby Taunton, a well-populated town where Hiram decided to establish himself in the practice of Christian Science. After a few successful months, however, Mrs. Crafts persuaded her husband to return to his work as a shoemaker. Regardless, Mrs. Eddy’s success with her first student showed her that an understanding of metaphysical healing could be effectively taught to others.