church, her messages to the workers in the field continually urged them to organise churches. It would seem that what was hurtful to spirituality in Boston would be hurtful elsewhere; but the fact was that ever since the schism of 1888 Mrs. Eddy had been dissatisfied with her Boston church, and she had decided to take it to pieces and make it over. A plan was forming in her mind, and putting a stop to all the business transactions of the church gave her time to feel her way toward its accomplishment.
The Boston church was still homeless and held its meetings in public halls. In 1886 its members had purchased a lot on Falmouth Street—where the original Mother Church now stands—with the intention of erecting upon it a church building. They paid two thousand dollars down upon the date of purchase and assumed a mortgage for the balance due. By December, 1888, the church had paid $5,800 upon the property, and had reduced the mortgage to $4,963.50. Mrs. Eddy then stepped in and, through her lawyer, secured an assignment of the mortgage for the amount due upon it. Eight months later she foreclosed and bought in the property herself through her lawyer's brother.[1]
In other words, Mrs. Eddy sold to herself the land upon
- ↑ The exact steps of this transaction were as follows:
In 1886 the Boston church, through its treasurer, William H. Bradley, had purchased from Nathan Matthews the plot of ground upon which the Christian Science church now stands, paying down $2,000 and assuming a mortgage for $8,763.50. By December, 1888, the church had paid upon this land, in all, $5,800, reducing the mortgage to $4,963.50. At this date Mrs. Eddy, through her lawyer, Baxter B. Perry, later disbarred, secured an assignment of the mortgage from Mr. Matthews for exactly the sum due upon the land. Although this assignment occurred December 6, 1888, it was not recorded until August 6, 1889, this date being also the date of the recording of Mrs. Eddy's foreclosure of the mortgage. The Suffolk County Register of Deeds shows that Baxter E. Perry sold the Falmouth Street lot at a mortgage foreclosure sale held on August 3, 1889, to his brother and law partner, George H. Perry, for the sum of $5,000. George H. Perry then deeded the land to Ira O. Knapp, for the sum of $5,100, the additional $100 apparently forming Mr. Perry's fee for his part in the transaction.
