Septimus James Hanna (July 29, 1845 – July 23, 1921), an

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and a judge in the Old West. He was a student of

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, who founded the

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church. Giving up his legal career, he became a

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, lecturer and teacher. Hanna occupied more leading positions within the church organization than any individual, serving as pastor, then First Reader of

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, as editor and associate editor of the periodicals, member of the Bible Lesson Committee, he served two terms as president of The Mother Church, he was teacher of the Normal (teachers) Class of 1907, later vice president and then president of the

Massachusetts Metaphysical College The Massachusetts Metaphysical College was founded in 1881 by Mary Baker Eddy in Boston, Massachusetts, to teach her school of Christian Science metaphysical healing that she named Christian Science. Eddy records in the preface of '' Science and He ...

Family background

Hanna's grandfather, Andrew Hanna, a

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from

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emigrated to the United States after the

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and bought land in Penns Valley in

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. He served in the

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and was in a battle that was part of the

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. He married a daughter of James Cook, a

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once described as "a tall, dignified gentleman ... a man of large means."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 Hanna's father, Samuel Cook Hanna, a farmer, was born in 1808 in

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, and spent his boyhood there. His father was an active member of the Methodist church and served as superintendent of the Sunday school. A history of the Spring Mills Sunday School noted about him, "His words were few and always spoken with gentleness, but his life had a power whose influence was deep and abiding." His mother, Susanna Miles, was descended from a

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family who came from Radnor, Wales, with

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in "Ye Good Shippe Welcome" to become among the earliest settlers of

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and was related to

Samuel Miles Samuel Miles (March 11, 1740 – December 29, 1805) was an American military officer and politician, as well as an influential businessman and politician, active in Pennsylvania before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. Milita ...

, a militia general in the Revolutionary War, one of Philadelphia's early mayors and a judge of the High Court of Errors and Appeals. His brother, Richard, a captain in the Revolutionary War, was Hanna' s grandfather.

Early years

Septimus J. Hanna was born one of ten children, to Susanna (née Miles) and Samuel Cook Hanna in

Spring Mills, Pennsylvania Spring Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Centre County, Pennsylvania, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population w ...

on July 29, 1845. The family moved from Center County to

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in Crawford County in western Pennsylvania. His parents were of different religious backgrounds, Scottish-Presbyterian (his father) and Baptist (his mother). Together, they joined the Methodist Episcopal church, where they were active members. He attended public school there and later, went to Meadville Academy. The onset of war prevented his further education. At the age of eighteen, Hanna enlisted as Stephen J. Hanna in Company H,

138th Illinois Volunteer Infantry The 138th Illinois Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment from Illinois that served in the Union Army between June 21 and October 14, 1864, during the American Civil War. Service The regiment was organized at Camp Wood, Quincy, Illinois an ...

,Septimus James Hanna, brief biography
Find A Grave. Retrieved July 8, 2013 composed largely of soldiers of his own age. He was unanimously elected its captain during the last year of the Civil War. Hanna resumed his education after the war, studying law. He was admitted to the Illinois

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in 1866. Later, he moved to

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, where on September 21, 1869, he married Camilla Turley, a daughter of a prominent citizen there. He began his law practice in Council Bluffs as part of the firm Sapp, Lyman, and Hanna. At the end of his first year, when he was 23, he was appointed judge of the County Court, then in Council Bluffs."They answered the call: Septimus J. Hanna"
''

Christian Science Journal ''The Christian Science Journal'' is an official monthly publication of the Church of Christ, Scientist through the Christian Science Publishing Society, founded in 1883 by Mary Baker Eddy.

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. Settling in the town of

Leadville The City of Leadville is a statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 census and an estimated ...

, he worked as a lawyer and register in the U.S. land office. 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

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, 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. 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. 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.

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",Brief biography of Judge Septimus J. Hanna, C.S.D. in ''Pioneers in Christian Science'', Longyear Museum & Historical Society (1993) although he had no plan of how to proceed. In May 1890, there was a three-day meeting of Mary Baker Eddy's students held in

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, the fifth annual meeting of the National Christian Science Association and the Hannas decided to attend. While there, Septimus Hanna was invited to take charge of a society of Christian Scientists in

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. After visiting Scranton, he accepted the invitation, marking the beginning of his career in Christian Science. During this period, Hanna and his wife were invited to meet Eddy,

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, ''Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority'' (1977), p. 39. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York then living in the Boston neighborhood of

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. 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

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, 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.""Judge Hanna Lectures"
''Boston Evening Transcript'' (June 1, 1906). Retrieved July 8, 2013 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. In early 1893, in addition to editing the ''Journal'', Hanna was called to become pastor of

. He was also chosen by Eddy to read her address to the

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in Chicago. In 1894, the Bible and the Christian Science textbook were ordained as the "impersonal pastor"; with changes in the church service, Hanna became First Reader. In 1895, around the time the ''

Manual of The Mother Church The ''Church Manual of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts'' commonly known as the ''Manual of The Mother Church'' is the book that establishes the structure and governance of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, als ...

'' was published, Eddy wrote a letter to Hanna describing the work of establishing the by-laws that would govern the church, a portion of which was later published in her book ''Miscellaneous Writings'' and in the front of the ''Manual'', before the table of contents. 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 The ''Christian Science Sentinel'' (originally the ''Christian Science Weekly'') is a magazine published by the Christian Science Publishing Society based in Boston, Massachusetts. The magazine was launched by Mary Baker Eddy in 1898. It includes ...

'' began publication in September 1898, Hanna's editorial duties were extended to include the ''Sentinel'', as were those of his wife. Also, in 1898, Hanna was made vice-president of the

, when Eddy established a Board of Education to continue the work of the closed institution. 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. He continued in these positions until 1902, when he became a member of the Board of Lectureship"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 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.

Later years

The Hannas decided to leave Boston and return to the west, moving to

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, which they thought would be a good central location for them in his work as a Christian Science lecturer. Hanna's lectures were compared to legal arguments and to a judge's charge to a jury. He remained on the lecture circuit until 1914, lecturing in the United States, British Isles, and Canada. In 1907, at Eddy's request, Hanna taught the "

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class", the course that trains new teachers of Christian Science. Hanna was the third person to teach the course, aside from Eddy herself.Robert Peel (1977), pp. 250-251Brief bio of Hanna
Daystar Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2013 Aside from the few pupils he had taught in Scranton before moving to Boston, Hanna had not taught Christian Science and was surprised by the request and was initially uncertain about accepting the invitation. His own first primary class was held the following year, in August 1908. When Eddy died in 1910, Hanna, became president of the Massachusetts Metaphysical College. 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. In autumn 1911, they moved to

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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

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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)

Notes

References

External links

List of lectures, including four by Judge Septimus J. Hanna, C.S.D.
Christian Science Lectures
Biographical sketch and portraits of the Hannas
Longyear Museum

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanna, Septimus J. 1845 births 1921 deaths People from Centre County, Pennsylvania American people of Scottish descent American Christian Scientists American Christian religious leaders Christian Science writers History of Christianity in the United States Converts to Christian Science from Methodism