New Hampshire Native Daughter

New Hampshire Native Daughter: The Early Life of Mary Baker Eddy, 1821–1866 by William Maurice TreadwellThis biographical narrative traces the first forty-five years of the life of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, from her birth on the Baker family farm in the Merrimack River Valley through her years in New Hampshire. Treadwell draws on decades of research, including extensive work with the New Hampshire Historical Society, to recover the texture of her childhood and youth: the rhythms of farm life, the Baker family’s devout Protestant household, and the people and places that shaped her early years.

Written in a warm, narrative style rich with period detail, the book aims to bring Mary Baker Eddy’s formative decades to life for readers already familiar with her later spiritual legacy. The author passed away in 2024 as the manuscript was being prepared for publication, and it was completed and brought to print by his wife, Julie Treadwell.