Biography
FLAVIA STICKNEY KNAPP, born in Lyman, New Hampshire, was a schoolteacher until her marriage in 1866 to Ira O. Knapp, Superintendent of the Lyman schools. By 1884, after 13 years of ill health, Flavia was a helpless invalid. When her sister told her about Christian Science, Flavia called on Mary E. Harris, a Christian Science practitioner and student of Mrs. Eddy, for prayerful help. In three weeks, she was completely healed. In December of the same year, both Mr. and Mrs. Knapp had Primary class with Mrs. Eddy at the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, and began the public practice of Christian Science in Lyman. In 1888, they moved to Roslindale, Massachusetts, in search of a broader field for their work, and seven years later they settled in downtown Boston. Their daughter, Daphne, also a Christian Science practitioner, shared her mother’s office, and their two younger sons attended schools in Boston and would later become active in the Christian Science movement. Flavia Knapp began to hold her own classes in 1892. A number of them were later invited to attend Mrs. Eddy’s last class in 1898.