Septimus J. Hanna
Septimus J. Hanna (1844-1921) was born in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, and died in Pasadena, California. He attended Meadville Academy in Meadville, PA, until his education was interrupted by the American Civil War. He enlisted in Company H, 138th Illinois Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army (under the first name Stephen) and was promoted to captain in 1864. After the war he studied law and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1866. He subsequently moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where, after one year of law practice, he was appointed county court judge, then became the city attorney, and later served as deputy US district attorney. He married Camilla A. Hanna (b. Turley) in Council Bluffs in 1869. In 1872 the Hannas moved to Chicago, Illinois, where Septimus practiced law, but relocated to Leadville, Colorado, in 1879 in hopes of improving his health. There he practiced law and served as register of the US Land Office. Camilla also struggled with poor health, and upon hearing that three friends in Council Bluffs had been healed through Christian Science treatment by Jennie B. Fenn, a student of Mary Baker Eddy's, she wrote to her family inquiring about it. Her father sent her a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as a New Year's gift in 1886, and she was healed by reading it. Her healing inspired both Hannas to begin the earnest study of Christian Science. They attended the National Christian Scientist Association in New York in 1890 and went directly from there to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Septimus became the pastor of the Christian Science society and helped establish a church. The Hannas were listed in The Christian Science Journal as practitioners in Scranton in 1891 and 1892. In the fall of 1892, Mary Baker Eddy called the Hannas to Boston and gave them seven private lessons in Christian Science, as they had not studied with her previously, and they both went on to serve the cause of Christian Science in significant capacities in Boston over the following ten years, Septimus holding more leadership roles than any other individual during that time. He became the editor of The Christian Science Journal and the pastor, then first reader, of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. In 1893 Eddy selected him to read her address to the Parliament of Religions at the Chicago World's Fair. In 1895 he began serving on the Bible Lesson Committee, and in 1898 he became the editor of the Christian Science Sentinel and the vice-president of the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, becoming its president in 1910. Both Hannas attended Eddy's last Normal class in November 1898. In 1902 Eddy appointed Septimus to the Board of Lectureship, whereupon the Hannas moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, which they viewed as an optimal location for Septimus's lecturing activities, and he served in that capacity until 1914. In 1907, Eddy called Septimus to teach the Normal class, and he taught his own primary students every year thereafter until his passing. In 1911 the Hannas settled in Pasadena, where they remained for the rest of their lives.
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Septimus J. Hanna
Septimus J. Hanna (1844-1921) was born in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, and died in Pasadena, California. He attended Meadville Academy in Meadville, PA, until his education was interrupted by the American Civil War. He enlisted in Company H, 138th Illinois Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army (under the first name Stephen) and was promoted to captain in 1864. After the war he studied law and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1866. He subsequently moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where, after one year of law practice, he was appointed county court judge, then became the city attorney, and later served as deputy US district attorney. He married Camilla A. Hanna (b. Turley) in Council Bluffs in 1869. In 1872 the Hannas moved to Chicago, Illinois, where Septimus practiced law, but relocated to Leadville, Colorado, in 1879 in hopes of improving his health. There he practiced law and served as register of the US Land Office. Camilla also struggled with poor health, and upon hearing that three friends in Council Bluffs had been healed through Christian Science treatment by Jennie B. Fenn, a student of Mary Baker Eddy's, she wrote to her family inquiring about it. Her father sent her a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as a New Year's gift in 1886, and she was healed by reading it. Her healing inspired both Hannas to begin the earnest study of Christian Science. They attended the National Christian Scientist Association in New York in 1890 and went directly from there to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Septimus became the pastor of the Christian Science society and helped establish a church. The Hannas were listed in The Christian Science Journal as practitioners in Scranton in 1891 and 1892. In the fall of 1892, Mary Baker Eddy called the Hannas to Boston and gave them seven private lessons in Christian Science, as they had not studied with her previously, and they both went on to serve the cause of Christian Science in significant capacities in Boston over the following ten years, Septimus holding more leadership roles than any other individual during that time. He became the editor of The Christian Science Journal and the pastor, then first reader, of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. In 1893 Eddy selected him to read her address to the Parliament of Religions at the Chicago World's Fair. In 1895 he began serving on the Bible Lesson Committee, and in 1898 he became the editor of the Christian Science Sentinel and the vice-president of the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, becoming its president in 1910. Both Hannas attended Eddy's last Normal class in November 1898. In 1902 Eddy appointed Septimus to the Board of Lectureship, whereupon the Hannas moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, which they viewed as an optimal location for Septimus's lecturing activities, and he served in that capacity until 1914. In 1907, Eddy called Septimus to teach the Normal class, and he taught his own primary students every year thereafter until his passing. In 1911 the Hannas settled in Pasadena, where they remained for the rest of their lives.
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