John Lees (1832-1907) was born in Stockport, England, and died in Fall River, Massachusetts. In c.1859 in Lancashire, he married Frances B. Lees (b. Walmsley). The couple kept a lodging house there before emigrating to the United States in the 1860s. In 1880, they were living in Rhode Island and John was working in a cotton mill. By 1886, they were in Fall River, Massachusetts. The couple had at least six children, of whom Mary L. Hillson (b. Lees) was the youngest. Unfortunately, by 1886, three of those six children had died, leaving only Mary, her sister Emma Lees, and a brother, Henry Lees. In 1886, Mary wrote to Mary Baker Eddy that she, her parents and sister, would like to join the Christian Science church.

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