P01549Laura E. Sargent (b. Adams) (1858-1915) was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and died in Newton, Massachusetts. Her older sister, Victoria H. Sargent (b. Adams), married Henry Sargent in 1866, and Laura married his brother, James Sargent, in Oconto, Wisconsin, in 1876. The two brothers had migrated from New Brunswick, Canada, to engage in the lumber business in Oconto. Sargent was first healed by Christian Science treatment through prayer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1883, and the sisters attended Mary Baker Eddy's May 1884 class in Chicago, Illinois. They introduced their mother, Minerva R. Adams (b. Randall), to Christian Science; Adams would later study with Sargent and join The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts.
A student of Eddy, Sargent completed the Primary class twice: once in May 1884 and again with her sister in December 1884. She later completed the Normal class in May 1886 and the Obstetrics class in December 1887. In 1886 Sargent was sent by Eddy to St. Paul, Minnesota, where she took patients for several months. Along with her sister, she was part of a small group that organized a Christian Science branch church in Oconto in June 1886. A church was built and dedicated in February 1887; it was the first edifice in the world built for Christian Science services. That year, Sargent taught her first class in Marinette, Wisconsin. She was a member of the National Christian Scientist Association and was president of the Students' Christian Scientist Association, Oconto, Wisconsin.
In 1890 Eddy called on Sargent to join her household at 62 North State Street in Concord, New Hampshire, and she would serve on and off, for months or years at a time, for the next twenty years. During this time, Eddy was revising the fiftieth edition of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. As pages of the book were made ready, Sargent acted as a messenger and carried them to the printer in Boston, Massachusetts. She would later do so again with Miscellaneous Writings, 1883-1896 in 1896, carrying all the proof sheets from Eddy's Pleasant View home in Concord to the publisher in Boston. Sargent became a First Member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 23, 1892. At Eddy's request, she served as custodian of Mrs. Eddy's Room in the Original Mother Church from 1895 to 1899. She was listed in the directory of The Christian Science Journal as a Christian Science practitioner and teacher in Oconto from 1887 to 1895, and in Boston from 1896 to 1905.
Sargent was a key figure in the management of Eddy's household and was Eddy's constant companion and personal aide. Eddy often depended on her for prayerful support. She lived continuously in Eddy's Pleasant View home and then in Eddy's Chestnut Hill home in Newton from 1903 to 1910. That December, she was appointed custodian of Eddy's Chestnut Hill home by The Christian Science Board of Directors after Eddy's passing. She was also appointed to The Mother Church's Committee on Business in 1910 and served until her death. In December 1913 she taught the Normal Class in the Board of Education of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, becoming the second woman after Eddy herself to teach a Christian Science Normal class. Starting in July 1914, she was appointed to a one-year term on the Bible Lesson Committee.
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P01549Laura E. Sargent (b. Adams) (1858-1915) was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and died in Newton, Massachusetts. Her older sister, Victoria H. Sargent (b. Adams), married Henry Sargent in 1866, and Laura married his brother, James Sargent, in Oconto, Wisconsin, in 1876. The two brothers had migrated from New Brunswick, Canada, to engage in the lumber business in Oconto. Sargent was first healed by Christian Science treatment through prayer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1883, and the sisters attended Mary Baker Eddy's May 1884 class in Chicago, Illinois. They introduced their mother, Minerva R. Adams (b. Randall), to Christian Science; Adams would later study with Sargent and join The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts.
A student of Eddy, Sargent completed the Primary class twice: once in May 1884 and again with her sister in December 1884. She later completed the Normal class in May 1886 and the Obstetrics class in December 1887. In 1886 Sargent was sent by Eddy to St. Paul, Minnesota, where she took patients for several months. Along with her sister, she was part of a small group that organized a Christian Science branch church in Oconto in June 1886. A church was built and dedicated in February 1887; it was the first edifice in the world built for Christian Science services. That year, Sargent taught her first class in Marinette, Wisconsin. She was a member of the National Christian Scientist Association and was president of the Students' Christian Scientist Association, Oconto, Wisconsin.
In 1890 Eddy called on Sargent to join her household at 62 North State Street in Concord, New Hampshire, and she would serve on and off, for months or years at a time, for the next twenty years. During this time, Eddy was revising the fiftieth edition of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. As pages of the book were made ready, Sargent acted as a messenger and carried them to the printer in Boston, Massachusetts. She would later do so again with Miscellaneous Writings, 1883-1896 in 1896, carrying all the proof sheets from Eddy's Pleasant View home in Concord to the publisher in Boston. Sargent became a First Member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 23, 1892. At Eddy's request, she served as custodian of Mrs. Eddy's Room in the Original Mother Church from 1895 to 1899. She was listed in the directory of The Christian Science Journal as a Christian Science practitioner and teacher in Oconto from 1887 to 1895, and in Boston from 1896 to 1905.
Sargent was a key figure in the management of Eddy's household and was Eddy's constant companion and personal aide. Eddy often depended on her for prayerful support. She lived continuously in Eddy's Pleasant View home and then in Eddy's Chestnut Hill home in Newton from 1903 to 1910. That December, she was appointed custodian of Eddy's Chestnut Hill home by The Christian Science Board of Directors after Eddy's passing. She was also appointed to The Mother Church's Committee on Business in 1910 and served until her death. In December 1913 she taught the Normal Class in the Board of Education of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, becoming the second woman after Eddy herself to teach a Christian Science Normal class. Starting in July 1914, she was appointed to a one-year term on the Bible Lesson Committee.
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