Eldora O. Gragg (b. Waite) (1848-1915) was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and died in Hudson, Massachusetts. She worked as a schoolteacher in Roxbury until 1874, when she married Isaac P. Gragg, and they settled in Brookline, Massachusetts. Her husband was a veteran of the American Civil War, having served in the Union Army from 1861 until 1865 and attaining the rank of captain. In 1867 he joined the Massachusetts militia and served until 1880. He was a dry goods clerk who later went into business as a mining manager and then a broker.
In 1884 Gragg became interested in Christian Science after she experienced healing through Christian Science treatment. She went on to take a class in Christian Science from Mary Baker Eddy's student Emily M. Meader, and then took Eddy's Primary class in March 1888, subsequently joining both the Christian Scientist Association and the National Christian Scientist Association. She was also a member of the Christian Science Dispensary Association and the General Association of Teachers. She began listing as a practitioner in The Christian Science Journal in 1891 and as a teacher of Christian Science in 1892, both of which she continued for the rest of her life. She was elected a First Member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 23, 1892.
Gragg and her students donated the chimes for the tower during the construction of the church's Original Edifice in 1894. She was the first person to serve as Second Reader of that church, a position she held from 1895 until 1902. She was also a member of a Christian Science branch church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the Graggs were living by 1900. They moved to Hudson by 1910. Gragg's daughter Elizabeth F. Norwood (b. Gragg) joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, in June 1908 and was listed as a practitioner in the Journal from 1924 until 1969. Another daughter, Florence Alden Gragg, joined the church in 1945, and a third daughter, Marian F. Northcroft (b. Gragg), joined in 1930. Marian was also a member of Ninth Church of Christ, Scientist, in Los Angeles, California.
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Eldora O. Gragg (b. Waite) (1848-1915) was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and died in Hudson, Massachusetts. She worked as a schoolteacher in Roxbury until 1874, when she married Isaac P. Gragg, and they settled in Brookline, Massachusetts. Her husband was a veteran of the American Civil War, having served in the Union Army from 1861 until 1865 and attaining the rank of captain. In 1867 he joined the Massachusetts militia and served until 1880. He was a dry goods clerk who later went into business as a mining manager and then a broker.
In 1884 Gragg became interested in Christian Science after she experienced healing through Christian Science treatment. She went on to take a class in Christian Science from Mary Baker Eddy's student Emily M. Meader, and then took Eddy's Primary class in March 1888, subsequently joining both the Christian Scientist Association and the National Christian Scientist Association. She was also a member of the Christian Science Dispensary Association and the General Association of Teachers. She began listing as a practitioner in The Christian Science Journal in 1891 and as a teacher of Christian Science in 1892, both of which she continued for the rest of her life. She was elected a First Member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 23, 1892.
Gragg and her students donated the chimes for the tower during the construction of the church's Original Edifice in 1894. She was the first person to serve as Second Reader of that church, a position she held from 1895 until 1902. She was also a member of a Christian Science branch church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the Graggs were living by 1900. They moved to Hudson by 1910. Gragg's daughter Elizabeth F. Norwood (b. Gragg) joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, in June 1908 and was listed as a practitioner in the Journal from 1924 until 1969. Another daughter, Florence Alden Gragg, joined the church in 1945, and a third daughter, Marian F. Northcroft (b. Gragg), joined in 1930. Marian was also a member of Ninth Church of Christ, Scientist, in Los Angeles, California.
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