100 acres more or less: The history of the land and people of Bow, New Hampshire

Bundy, David A. 100 acres more or less: The history of the land and people of Bow, New Hampshire. Canaan, NH: Phoenix Pub., 1975.

For researchers wishing to understand the early formative years of Eddy’s life, this historical record of her birthplace, the small town of Bow, New Hampshire, is a very good resource. Mary Baker’s family left Bow when Mary was 14, and Bundy’s coverage of her mature years as the founder of Christian Science is derived primarily from biographers Robert Peel and Jewel Smaus. But Mary’s first teacher of religion, her father, Mark Baker, was a leading citizen of Bow, and his involvement is more prominent (than Mary’s) in this historical record of Bow. He was born into a traditional Puritan family and embraced all of its tenets. Despite his standing in the community, his views on predestination and the government of the church did not sit well with many of the citizens of Bow, including his daughter, Mary. But one of his grandsons, George W. Baker, offered this description of Mark: “although he was as set as the hills on politics and religion, he was as kind hearted a man as ever lived. He never turned anyone from his door hungry. If there wasn’t anything handy in the house, he would give them money to get something at the tavern” (396).

ISBN-10: 0914016245
ISBN-13: 978-0914016243