E. Blanche Ward (b. Blackburn) (1865-1954) was born in Sydney, Australia, and died in London, England. She married Marcus J. Ward in Great Barr, Staffordshire, England, in 1884. He was a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, and was head of Messrs. Ward & Co. Printers and Publishers in Belfast, where the couple settled. The Wards first encountered Christian Science while on an extended stay in New York in 1889. Soon thereafter, they took the Primary class in Christian Science from Mary Baker Eddy's student August E. Stetson and then attended the annual convention of the National Christian Scientist Association in New York in May 1890. They returned to Belfast in 1891 and began holding informal Christian Science meetings in their home. Ward's husband died later in 1891, and in 1892 Ward traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, where she took a class in Christian Science from Eddy's adopted son Ebenezer J. Foster-Eddy. She joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 30, 1893.
At some point she also became a member of a Christian Science branch church in New York, New York. Ward then established herself as a Christian Science practitioner in England, first in Bedford, and finally, in 1894, in London. At Eddy's direction, Ward expanded her private home services into public meetings in early 1896, and she was one of the founders of the first Christian Science church in the United Kingdom in 1897, serving as its first Second Reader. In late 1898 Ward again traveled to Boston and became a member of the first Normal class of the newly established Board of Education, taught by Eddy's student Edward A. Kimball, in January 1899. Upon her return to London she dedicated her life to teaching and practitioner work until her passing, being listed in the directory of The Christian Science Journal from 1893 to 1954. She was also a member of the National Christian Scientist Association, the Christian Science Dispensary Association, and the General Association of Teachers in London.
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E. Blanche Ward (b. Blackburn) (1865-1954) was born in Sydney, Australia, and died in London, England. She married Marcus J. Ward in Great Barr, Staffordshire, England, in 1884. He was a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, and was head of Messrs. Ward & Co. Printers and Publishers in Belfast, where the couple settled. The Wards first encountered Christian Science while on an extended stay in New York in 1889. Soon thereafter, they took the Primary class in Christian Science from Mary Baker Eddy's student August E. Stetson and then attended the annual convention of the National Christian Scientist Association in New York in May 1890. They returned to Belfast in 1891 and began holding informal Christian Science meetings in their home. Ward's husband died later in 1891, and in 1892 Ward traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, where she took a class in Christian Science from Eddy's adopted son Ebenezer J. Foster-Eddy. She joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 30, 1893.
At some point she also became a member of a Christian Science branch church in New York, New York. Ward then established herself as a Christian Science practitioner in England, first in Bedford, and finally, in 1894, in London. At Eddy's direction, Ward expanded her private home services into public meetings in early 1896, and she was one of the founders of the first Christian Science church in the United Kingdom in 1897, serving as its first Second Reader. In late 1898 Ward again traveled to Boston and became a member of the first Normal class of the newly established Board of Education, taught by Eddy's student Edward A. Kimball, in January 1899. Upon her return to London she dedicated her life to teaching and practitioner work until her passing, being listed in the directory of The Christian Science Journal from 1893 to 1954. She was also a member of the National Christian Scientist Association, the Christian Science Dispensary Association, and the General Association of Teachers in London.
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