Septimus J. Hanna
Septimus James Hanna (July 29, 1845 – July 23, 1921), an
Family background
Hanna's grandfather, Andrew Hanna, a
His mother, Susanna Miles, was descended from a
Early years
Septimus J. Hanna was born one of ten children, to Susanna (née Miles) and Samuel Cook Hanna in
He attended public school there and later, went to
Hanna resumed his education after the war, studying law. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1866. Later, he moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where on September 21, 1869, he married Camilla Turley,[2] a daughter of a prominent citizen there. He began his law practice in Council Bluffs as part of the firm Sapp, Lyman, and Hanna.[2] At the end of his first year, when he was 23, he was appointed judge of the County Court, then in Council Bluffs.[1][4] He held the office one and a half years and later served as city attorney for several years. He also served as deputy United States district attorney.[1]
Legal career (1872–1890)
In 1872, the offer of a partnership brought Hanna to Chicago, where he practiced law until late 1879, when failing health caused him to move to Colorado.[1] Settling in the town of Leadville, he worked as a lawyer and register in the U.S. land office.[5] He was register of the United States Land Office in Leadville from 1882 to 1886, after which he practiced law from 1886 to 1890. While in Iowa and Colorado, Hanna took an active interest in politics, supporting the Republican Party, then a young political party.
Hanna and his wife first heard of Christian Science in Leadville in 1885 when two of her friends in Council Bluffs said they were healed by it.[6] His wife, then a semi-invalid, began to look into the new religion. In 1886, she received a copy of the Christian Science textbook, which she studied and saw her health restored. This led Hanna to begin his own investigation of the religion. His reading left him impressed with what he saw as its logic, but he was unable to grasp the book's meaning in its entirety.[1] Although the drier Colorado climate had alleviated some of his health problems, he was not completely recovered. A woman living in New Hampshire helped him in Christian Science and he recovered, becoming so impressed with the experience, that he began a "systematic study" of the religion's textbook.[1]
Career in Christian Science (1890–1921)
In 1890, after studying Christian Science about four years, Hanna left his legal practice to devote himself to "the Cause of Christian Science",[7] although he had no plan of how to proceed.[1] In May 1890, there was a three-day meeting of Mary Baker Eddy's students held in New York City, the fifth annual meeting of the National Christian Science Association[8][n 2] and the Hannas decided to attend. While there, Septimus Hanna was invited to take charge of a society of Christian Scientists in Scranton, Pennsylvania. After visiting Scranton, he accepted the invitation, marking the beginning of his career in Christian Science.[1]
During this period, Hanna and his wife were invited to meet Eddy,[10] then living in the Boston neighborhood of Roslindale. He was deeply impressed by her vitality and her spirituality, as well as her interest in world affairs. Speaking of her later in a lecture given in Malden, Massachusetts, Hanna said, "I can truthfully say that intellectually she is one of the most alert persons I have ever known; that she labors incessantly and unselfishly for the cause to which she has devoted her life, and that, notwithstanding her years, she performs an amount of labor each day which if known would seem incredible, even if done by one yet in the adolescence of life."[11]
The Hannas worked in Scranton until autumn 1892, when Eddy appointed Septimus Hanna editor of the
Boston years
During the years the Hannas were in Boston, the church organization was taking shape and Hanna served in several key positions.
Eddy was reported to have called him "morally statuesque" and in a letter to him, she called him "a born editor". In a letter to her just over two months later in April 1896, he questioned a proposed raise in his salary, fearing the increase could be a corrupting influence on his character. When a weekly periodical, the Christian Science Sentinel began publication in September 1898, Hanna's editorial duties were extended to include the Sentinel,[4] as were those of his wife. Also, in 1898, Hanna was made vice-president of the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, when Eddy established a Board of Education to continue the work of the closed institution.[17] When she taught her last class that same year, Hanna and his wife were invited to attend; both received "the degree of C.S.D." by Eddy.[7][18]
He continued in these positions until 1902, when he became a member of the Board of Lectureship[19] at Eddy's request. His assigned region being in the western United States and a new church by-law setting a three-year term to the First Reader, Hanna resigned his other positions in June. His wife resigned as well.[20]
Later years
The Hannas decided to leave Boston and return to the west, moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado, which they thought would be a good central location for them in his work as a Christian Science lecturer.[1]
Hanna's lectures were compared to legal arguments and to a judge's charge to a jury.[21] He remained on the lecture circuit until 1914,[2][7] lecturing in the United States, British Isles, and Canada.[1]
In 1907, at Eddy's request, Hanna taught the "
When Eddy died in 1910, Hanna, became president of the Massachusetts Metaphysical College.[1] He was the only person to serve as president other than Eddy and was re-appointed president every year for the rest of his life.[4]
In autumn 1911, they moved to Pasadena, California and built a house on the corner of Oakland Avenue and Fillmore Street. In 1914, Hanna resigned from the Board of Lectureship; he continued to conduct his annual primary class instruction and association meeting until his death in 1921. For many years, Judge Hanna was a member of the National Geographic Society.[1]
Published writings (selected)
- Editorial Christian Science Journal (September 1894)
- "Healing Through Christian Science" Christian Science Journal (August 1896)
- "The Absolute and the Relative" Christian Science Journal (December 1911)
See also
Notes
- ^ Hanna's Civil War pension was received in his own name, as Septimus J. Hanna.[3]
- ^ The National Christian Science Association was dissolved in 1892.[9]
- World's Parliament of Religions, but relented to the wishes of her students, who were eager to participate. She wrote to Hanna months before, "I see great aims and results both pro and con to this Congress business."[13]
- ^ Initially, the normal class was held annually and the same teacher taught every year. Eddy, who believed in "rotation in office", planned to establish a three-year term limit; the second teacher taught for three years. She then wrote a new by-law, establishing the class term as it is today, with one normal class (course) held once every three years, a different teacher for every term and the class size limited to 30. Hanna was the first to teach under the new by-law.[22]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Obituary and biographical sketch of Judge Septimus J. Hanna, C.S.D. republished from the Pasadena Star News, Pasadena, California (July 25, 1921). Retrieved July 6, 2013
- ^ a b c d Septimus James Hanna, brief biography Find A Grave. Retrieved July 8, 2013
- ^ Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900, Illinois Infantry, Regiment 138, Company H: Hanna, Septimus J. Fold3. Retrieved July 8, 2013
- ^ Christian Science Journal(December 1989). Retrieved July 9, 2013 (subscription required)
- ^ Hanna, Septimus J. Online Archive of California. Retrieved July 8, 2013
- ^ Brief biography of Camilla Hanna, C.S.D. in Pioneers in Christian Science, Longyear Museum & Historical Society (1993). Note: This book is spiral bound for the purpose of enabling additional pages to be added, hence there are no page numbers. The biographical sketches are in alphabetical order.
- ^ a b c Brief biography of Judge Septimus J. Hanna, C.S.D. in Pioneers in Christian Science, Longyear Museum & Historical Society (1993)
- ^ Report of proceedings of the fifth annual meeting of the National Christian Scientists' Association, held at New York City, May 27, 28, 29, 1890 WorldCat. Retrieved July 17, 2013
- ISBN 0-313-22249-5. Retrieved July 17, 2013
- ^ Robert Peel, Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority (1977), p. 39. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York
- ^ "Judge Hanna Lectures" Boston Evening Transcript (June 1, 1906). Retrieved July 8, 2013
- ^ Robert Peel (1977), p. 51
- ^ Robert Peel (1977), pp. 49 and 57
- ^ Robert Peel (1977), pp. 72-23
- ^ Robert Peel (1977), pp. 90 and 402, fn 88
- ^ Mary Baker Eddy (1895), Manual of The Mother Church, Christian Science Publishing Society, p. 3
- ^ Robert Peel (1977), p. 124
- ^ Robert Peel (1977), p. 125
- ^ "Christian Science: Lecture at First Parish Church by Judge Septimus J. Hanna, C.S.D." The Cambridge Chronicle (April 23, 1904), pp. 14-15. Retrieved July 7, 2013
- ^ Robert Peel (1977), p. 192
- ^ "Brilliant Lecture on Christian Science" The Lodi Sentinel, Lodi, California (December 15, 1908). Retrieved July 8, 2013
- ^ a b Robert Peel (1977), pp. 250-251
- ^ Brief bio of Hanna Archived 2013-07-08 at archive.today Daystar Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2013