Annetta Gertrude Seabury Dresser (1843–1935) was an American writer and early leader of the

New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a new religious movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy ...

movement.

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (15 January 195329 August 2012) was a British historian and professor of Western esotericism at the University of Exeter, best known for his authorship of several scholarly books on the history of Germany between the W ...

, ''The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction'', Oxford University Press, 2008, 186. She became a "mind cure" practitioner, treating philosopher and writer

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...

, among others.

Background

She was born in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

as Annetta Gertrude Seabury. She later married Julius Dresser and they lived in

Yarmouth, Maine Yarmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, twelve miles north of the state's largest city, Portland, Maine, Portland. When originally settled in 1636, as North Yarmouth, Maine, North Yarmouth, it was part of the Massachusetts ...

. For a time they were both patients and later among the "first disciples" of New England "mentalist"

Phineas Parkhurst Quimby Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (February 16, 1802 – January 16, 1866) was an American folk healer, mentalist and mesmerist. His work is widely recognized as foundational to the New Thought spiritual movement. Early life Born in the small town of L ...

. He used hypnosis in mind cures of illnesses and ailments. His work influenced the

movement, of which both Dressers became part. Annetta Dresser became a mind cure practitioner herself. Among her patients was the noted American philosopher and writer

, who had about twelve sessions with her in an effort to treat his insomnia. Robert D. Richardson, ''William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism'', Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006, 275-276. He taught at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

for many years. Dresser later wrote about their mentor's work in ''The Philosophy of P. P. Quimby'' (1895). She argued that

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (née Baker; July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author, who in 1879 founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, the ''Mother Church'' of the Christian Science movement. She also founded ''The C ...

, the founder of

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...

in the late 19th century, had borrowed from Quimby's ideas, although the younger woman also developed her own system of thought in her religious system. Dresser strongly supported Quimby's ideas over Eddy's. The Dresser's son, Horatio Willis Dresser (born in 1866), also became influenced by Quimby. In addition to becoming a minister, he wrote, edited and compiled several New Thought works, including ''A History of the New Thought Movement'' (1919). His ''The Quimby Manuscripts'' (1921) were a compilation of Quimby's papers, released after the death of both Quimby and his son. William James treated Dresser's works respectfully in his own book, '' Varieties of Religious Experience.''

Selected works

*Annetta Gertrude Dresser,
The Philosophy of P. P. Quimby
', Boston: G.H. Ellis, 1895.

Background

Selected works

References

Further reading