William Farlow (1825-1909) was born in Frederica, Delaware, and died in Newton, Massachusetts. Farlow was a member of the Methodist church for thirty years and worked as a farmer. During the winter he worked as a schoolteacher, and he also served as assessor for the town of Orange, Illinois, for sixteen years. He married Sarah Farlow (b. Dennis) in Ross, Ohio, in 1851, and she passed away in 1853. He then married Perlina J. Farlow (b. McGrew) in Knox, Illinois, in 1854. The couple had eight children, including Alfred Farlow, who would eventually become one of the most significant and well-known figures of the early Christian Science movement. Farlow sold his farm in 1872 and co-owned a farmer's grange supply store. The business fell into serious difficulties however, and Farlow was forced to sell everything. The family moved to Beatrice, Nebraska, in 1879. Encouraged by Farlow, who was a singing teacher in his youth, the children created the Farlow Family Band and performed concerts throughout the Midwest until the late 1880s. In 1885, a neighbor gave Perlina a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The family became interested in Christian Science and would study the book around the dining room table together during the evening. After four of the Farlow children (Alfred, William S., Emma L., and Sarah A.) enrolled in Primary class with Janet Colman, a student of Mary Baker Eddy's who taught in Nebraska, William and Perlina also became students of Colman's, enrolling in her November 1886 class. Farlow also took class with his son, Alfred Farlow. They both joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 30, 1894.

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