Silas J. Sawyer (1842-1905) was born in Brockport, New York, and died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sawyer practiced as a dentist in New York and Wisconsin for twenty years before he became acquainted with Christian Science in 1883. He and his wife, Jennie E. Sawyer, were both students of Mary Baker Eddy's. He had Primary (1883 and 1884) and Normal (1886) class instruction with her. He joined the Christian Scientist Association in January 1884, and in April 1893, he joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, and was a member until his passing. From 1884 to 1904, he was listed as a Christian Science practitioner and teacher in the directory of The Christian Science Journal. Sawyer was also a pioneering worker for Christian Science in Wisconsin. He chartered the Wisconsin Metaphysical Institute in 1884 and was a founding member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Milwaukee, which was organized and chartered in 1889.

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