Ursula N. Gestefeld (1845-1921) was born in Augusta, Maine, and died in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She was a student of Mary Baker Eddy's, completing the Primary class in May 1884. There is no record of her joining the Christian Scientist Association or uniting with the Church of Christ (Scientist). Gestefeld was a founding member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago, Illinois, and served on the church's first board of directors. In March 1889, Gestefeld was excommunicated from First Church, Chicago, when she refused to withdraw her book, Ursula N. Gestefeld's Statement of Christian Science, which presented Christian Science from a theosophical standpoint. After leaving the Christian Science movement, Gestefeld established the Science of Being, a branch of the New Thought movement. She continued to lecture and teach in the United States and Europe, and at the time of her passing, she was recognized as one of the leaders of the New Thought movement.

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