John V. Dittemore
John V. Dittemore (1876-1937) was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and died in New York, New York. He attended Ohio Military Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. After graduating, he became president of the Federal Packing Company in Indianapolis and vice-president of the Van Camp Packing Company. He married Edith L. Bingham in 1898 in Indianapolis, although she later divorced him. He became interested in Christian Science and was First Reader of the church there. Dittemore resigned his positions with the packing companies to devote himself full time to Christian Science, joining The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 7, 1904. He left Indianapolis in 1907 to become head of the church's Committee on Publication in New York. In 1908, he commissioned The Life of Mary Baker Eddy by Sibyl Wilbur, the first church-authorized biography of Eddy, which was based on articles written by Wilbur for Human Life magazine. After Eddy passed away in 1910, Dittemore was a trustee of her estate for ten years. He served as Clerk of The Mother Church from May 1909 - November 1917 and also served on The Christian Science Board of Directors from May 1909 until he was removed in March 1919. Established in March 1920, Dittemore was an original trustee of The Zion Research Foundation, which collected and preserved both Bible and Christian Science history-related items and was a precursor to the Longyear Foundation. During an era of lawsuits known as the "Great Litigation" from 1919-1924, Dittemore was removed from the Board for his opposition to attempts to reconcile with the Trustees of The Christian Science Publishing Society and a general refusal to perform his duties as a Board member. Dittemore filed a lawsuit (John V. Dittemore vs. Adam H. Dickey & others) challenging the legality of his dismissal. The litigation was resolved in May 1924 in favor of the Board and the authority of the Church Manual. That year, Dittemore relocated to London, England, and organized the Christian Science Parent Church of the New Generation led by Annie C. Bill, who had withdrawn from both Third Church of Christ, Scientist, London, and The Mother Church in December 1909. Known as deputy leader of the church, he helped edit The Christian Science Watchman and acclaimed Bill as Eddy's successor. Dittemore returned to America in 1928 and was editor of Progress during 1930-31. Along with Ernest Sutherland Bates, he co-authored Mary Baker Eddy: The Truth and the Tradition (1932). In March 1937, shortly before his death, Dittemore wrote a letter to The Christian Science Board of Directors expressing repentance for his actions, stating, "I was wrong in letting personal opinion and matters of policy induce me to depart from principle," and that he wished, "to acknowledge my mistake in organizing what was naturally regarded as an opposition movement opposed to the cause of Christian Science, to Mrs Eddy and her teachings."
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John V. Dittemore
John V. Dittemore (1876-1937) was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and died in New York, New York. He attended Ohio Military Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. After graduating, he became president of the Federal Packing Company in Indianapolis and vice-president of the Van Camp Packing Company. He married Edith L. Bingham in 1898 in Indianapolis, although she later divorced him. He became interested in Christian Science and was First Reader of the church there. Dittemore resigned his positions with the packing companies to devote himself full time to Christian Science, joining The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 7, 1904. He left Indianapolis in 1907 to become head of the church's Committee on Publication in New York. In 1908, he commissioned The Life of Mary Baker Eddy by Sibyl Wilbur, the first church-authorized biography of Eddy, which was based on articles written by Wilbur for Human Life magazine. After Eddy passed away in 1910, Dittemore was a trustee of her estate for ten years. He served as Clerk of The Mother Church from May 1909 - November 1917 and also served on The Christian Science Board of Directors from May 1909 until he was removed in March 1919. Established in March 1920, Dittemore was an original trustee of The Zion Research Foundation, which collected and preserved both Bible and Christian Science history-related items and was a precursor to the Longyear Foundation. During an era of lawsuits known as the "Great Litigation" from 1919-1924, Dittemore was removed from the Board for his opposition to attempts to reconcile with the Trustees of The Christian Science Publishing Society and a general refusal to perform his duties as a Board member. Dittemore filed a lawsuit (John V. Dittemore vs. Adam H. Dickey & others) challenging the legality of his dismissal. The litigation was resolved in May 1924 in favor of the Board and the authority of the Church Manual. That year, Dittemore relocated to London, England, and organized the Christian Science Parent Church of the New Generation led by Annie C. Bill, who had withdrawn from both Third Church of Christ, Scientist, London, and The Mother Church in December 1909. Known as deputy leader of the church, he helped edit The Christian Science Watchman and acclaimed Bill as Eddy's successor. Dittemore returned to America in 1928 and was editor of Progress during 1930-31. Along with Ernest Sutherland Bates, he co-authored Mary Baker Eddy: The Truth and the Tradition (1932). In March 1937, shortly before his death, Dittemore wrote a letter to The Christian Science Board of Directors expressing repentance for his actions, stating, "I was wrong in letting personal opinion and matters of policy induce me to depart from principle," and that he wished, "to acknowledge my mistake in organizing what was naturally regarded as an opposition movement opposed to the cause of Christian Science, to Mrs Eddy and her teachings."
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