William F. Siedentopf (c.1846-1893) was born in Germany and died in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He emigrated to the United States in 1865, settling in Council Bluffs and starting a real estate and insurance business. His wife, Mary W. Siedentopf, and her sister, Lizzie L. Filbert, became interested in Christian Science in late 1885. Mary had intended to study with Mary Baker Eddy, but there is no record of her doing so, and in 1889, she declined the opportunity to study with Ebenezer J. Foster-Eddy.

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