
Addison Darre Crabtre (1831-1896), sometimes spelled Crabtree, was born
in Hancock, Maine, and died in Lamoine, Maine. He was a homeopathic physician who spent
most of his career practicing in Connecticut and Massachusetts. He appears to have
become interested in Christian Science in the summer of 1885 when he attended the
Christian Scientist Association's anniversary picnic at the Point of Pines, a beach
resort in Revere, Massachusetts. In 1883 he published a Bible reference book with
illustrations called The Journeys of Jesus, a book which Mary Baker Eddy reviewed and
was later sold by The Christian Science Publishing Society. Journeys proved a success
and Crabtree toured, giving lectures on the topic. During the lectures, images of the
illustrations would be projected, accompanied by singing from his daughter, Inez. In
1877 he wrote a song called "A Tramp on the Street." It would prove an influential
American folk song which was popularized when it was rerecorded in the 1940s and 1950s.
Crabtree's association with Christian Science seems to have been brief, but Journeys
would continue to be sold by the Publishing Society for many years after.
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