Annie MacMillan Knott (1 September, 1850 – December 20, 1941) was a

practitioner Practitioner may refer to: *General practitioner *Nurse practitioner * Health practitioner *Insolvency practitioner * Justice and public safety practitioner * Legal practitioner *Medical practitioner *Mental health professional or practitioner * ...

and teacher in

The First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts ...

. She was a student of

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 the religion, and served the church in various capacities including First Reader, Associate Editor of the Christian Science periodicals, member of the Bible Lesson Committee, one of the first women on the Christian Science Board of Lectureship, Trustee under the Will of Mary Baker Eddy, and the first woman to become a member of the Christian Science Board of Directors.

Life

Born Annie Macmillan, one of three daughters to religious

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

s William and Catherine Macmillan (née Kerr), in

Stewarton Stewarton (,
) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. ...

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. By the age of eight, she had committed entire chapters of the Bible to memory.Tyner (2010), pp. 92–93Biography of Mrs. Annie M. Knott, C.S.D.
Christian Science Endtime Center. Retrieved August 11, 2013 Her father was a cousin of the founders of the

Macmillan Publishing Company Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

Daniel Daniel commonly refers to: * Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname * List of people named Daniel * List of people with surname Daniel * Daniel (biblical figure) * Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the acti ...

and Alexander Macmillan. Her family emigrated to

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada when she was a girl and she grew up there. In 1876, she was married to Kennard Knott. In 1878, they moved to England, where he had been born. While in the London area and acting on a long-held desire to help the sick, she did volunteer work in local hospitals, although she was herself in poor health with bronchitis and other ailments. She began investigating alternatives to medicine, such as

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...

. In 1881, her little boy died while under the care of a doctor who was a grandson of

Samuel Hahnemann Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann ( , ; 10 April 1755 – 2 July 1843) was a German physician, best known for creating the pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine called homeopathy. Early life Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann w ...

, founder of homeopathy.Tyner (2010), pp. 94–96 In January 1882, Knott and her daughters, aged two and four, emigrated to Chicago, where her husband had already relocated. They soon had another child, a boy. One afternoon, when this child was approaching his second birthday, Knott heard him screaming in the kitchen and discovered he'd swallowed much of a bottle of disinfectant,

carbolic acid Phenol (also known as carbolic acid, phenolic acid, or benzenol) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile and can catch fire. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bon ...

. Doctors arrived shortly and said they didn't expect him to survive and if he did, he'd never be able to swallow normally. Desperate for help, she turned to Christian Science. The child was soon relieved from pain and the next morning, recovered completely, helping himself to an apple he found in the pantry. The experience changed Knott. She had already purchased the Christian Science textbook and had been reading it; after the experience with her son, she began a more intensive study of the book, during which she found her health improving. She then began offering to help others. She also had primary class instruction with Bradford Sherman, a student of Eddy's. Around this time, her husband abandoned the family. In 1885, having friends in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan, Knott and her children moved there from Chicago. In 1887 and 1888, she had class instruction with

,Tyner (2010), pp. 97–100 who had founded the Christian Science church based upon what she called her discovery of the "Science of the Christ." Afterwards, Knott was given the certificate C.S.D., allowing her to teach Christian Science herself. As a

Christian Science practitioner A Christian Science practitioner is an individual who prays for others according to the teachings of Christian Science.Vitello, Paul"Christian Science Church Seeks Truce With Modern Medicine" ''The New York Times'', March 23, 2010. Treatment is non ...

and teacher, and from 1889 to April 1895, pastor, she became a prominent resident of Detroit and was invited to be one of the people, mostly men, to write letters for the

Detroit Century Box The Detroit Century Box is a time capsule that was created in the U.S. city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan on December 31, 1900. Mayor William C. Maybury organized the capsule which consists of a copper box filled with photos and letters containi ...

, a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...

organized by the mayor, William C. Maybury. Her letter, along with those from Maybury,

James E. Scripps James Edmund Scripps (March 19, 1835 – May 28, 1906) was an American newspaper publisher and philanthropist. Early life and education Scripps was born in 1835 in London to James Mogg Scripps and Ellen Mary (Saunders) Scripps. His father was a b ...

, D. Augustus Straker and more than 50 others, was sealed in a metal box at midnight on December 31, 1900. In 1919, Knott became the first woman to serve on the church's Board of Directors. She had also been one of the first two women to be appointed to the Board of Lectureship in 1898 along with Sue Harper Mims.

Notes

References

External links

Annie M. Knott's letter in the "Detroit Century Box" (time capsule)
Detroit Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Knott, Annie M. 1850 births 1941 deaths Scottish emigrants to Canada Scottish emigrants to the United States American Christian Scientists Educators from Detroit Converts to Christian Science from Presbyterianism Former Presbyterians