Margarethe Schurz
Encyclopedia
Margarethe Meyer-Schurz (born Margarethe Meyer; also called Margaretha Meyer-Schurz or just Margarethe Schurz; born 27 August 1833 in Hamburg
; died 15 March 1876 opened the first German-language Kindergarten
in the USA.
After the failed revolution of 1848, Bertha followed Johannes Ronge into exile in London. In 1849, Margarethe and her sister Bertha met Froebel. Bertha Meyer spent 1850 and 1851 advancing the concept, opening Kindergartens across the German States. In 1851, Bertha and her spouse, Johannes Ronge, opened the England Infant Garden in Tavistock Place, the first Kindergarten in the English-speaking community. Margarethe Meyer taught at the England Infant Garden before moving to Watertown, Wisconsin with her husband Carl Schurz. In fall of 1851, Bertha became seriously sick and desperately needed help in the household. Because of this, Margarethe traveled to London as well. There she met Carl Schurz
who (like Ronge) had to leave Germany for political reasons. Margarethe and Carl entered a civil marriage and traveled soon thereafter to the United States. Both were members of the Irving Literary Society
. In Watertown, Wisconsin
, they started a small farm, where Margarethe's gift for financial affairs put them at an advantage.
Margarethe Meyer brought Froebel's ideas to America. She spent 2 years in New York then went west.She employed Froebel's philosophy while caring for her daughter, Agathe Schurz, and four neighborhood children in Wisconsin, leading them in games, songs and group activities channeling their energy and preparing them for primary school. Other Wisconsin parents were impressed and prevailed upon Schurz to open a Watertown kindergarten, the first in the United States. And like most of the early kindergartens in the United States, the class was conducted in the German language. The Watertown kindergarten continued until the outbreak of World War I, when it was closed due to opposition to the German language’s use [Notation; the Watertown Kindergarten was in operation from fall of 1854 to fall of 1856, when Margarethe Schurz and her family relocated to Milwaukee, WI for the winters-returning to Watertown only in the summers*. In 1856 the mortgage on her home was foreclosed as a result she moved back to Hamburg in June of the same year. After a year or so she returned to America. She settled in Missouri The School did not continue after 1856 until it was brought back into public education [date unknown].
In 1859, the Transcendentalist Elizabeth Peabody
visited the Schurz home at Watertown, Wisconsin, and was impressed with the young Agathe Schurz's ability and maturity. Margarete Meyer-Schurz told her about Froebel's teachings, and Peabody converted to the kindergarten cause. While Mrs. Schurz's health became such that she could not continue with her work, Peabody became a nationally known advocate of early education, and helped bring kindergartens into widespread use.
Margarethe Meyer-Schurz died at the age of 43, on March 15, 1876, and only three days after the birth of her son, Herbert.
On May 2, 1929, a memorial tablet was dedicated in Watertown, Wisconsin, a few feet from the site of the building where she founded the first kindergarten in America.
"In memory of Mrs. Carl Schurz (Margarethe Meyer Schurz) Aug. 27, 1833 -- March 15, 1876, who established on this site the first kindergarten in America, 1856."
The restored first kindergarten building originally stood at the corner of N. Second and Jones Streets, Watertown, and was later moved to the grounds of the Octagon House
in December 1956. The restored building was dedicated on September 15, 1957. The interior, a living room used as a classroom, remains furnished in the period and portrays a kindergarten class in progress.
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
; died 15 March 1876 opened the first German-language Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
in the USA.
Life
Margarethe Meyer-Schurz was born in Hamburg the youngest daughter of Heinrich Christian Meyer on August 27, 1833. Her mother died only a few hours after her birth. Her father encouraged education and the arts. In Hamburg, she studied under educators influenced by the creator of the “kindergarten” concept, child advocate Friedrich Froebel. Her father died when she was 15 years old. Through her older sisters Amalie and Bertha, she came into early contact with the "Society of German Catholics" and later attended the "School for the Female Sex". After her older sister Bertha divorced her husband Friedrich Traun, she entered a new marriage with the excommunicated priest Johannes Ronge, the founder of German Catholicism.After the failed revolution of 1848, Bertha followed Johannes Ronge into exile in London. In 1849, Margarethe and her sister Bertha met Froebel. Bertha Meyer spent 1850 and 1851 advancing the concept, opening Kindergartens across the German States. In 1851, Bertha and her spouse, Johannes Ronge, opened the England Infant Garden in Tavistock Place, the first Kindergarten in the English-speaking community. Margarethe Meyer taught at the England Infant Garden before moving to Watertown, Wisconsin with her husband Carl Schurz. In fall of 1851, Bertha became seriously sick and desperately needed help in the household. Because of this, Margarethe traveled to London as well. There she met Carl Schurz
Carl Schurz
Carl Christian Schurz was a German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, and Union Army General in the American Civil War. He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869 became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate.His wife,...
who (like Ronge) had to leave Germany for political reasons. Margarethe and Carl entered a civil marriage and traveled soon thereafter to the United States. Both were members of the Irving Literary Society
The Irving Literary Society (Cornell University)
Cornell literary societies were a group of 19th century student organizations at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, formed for the purpose of promoting language skills and oratory. The U.S...
. In Watertown, Wisconsin
Watertown, Wisconsin
Watertown is a city in Dodge and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Most of the city's population is in Jefferson County. Division Street, several blocks north of downtown, marks the county line. The population of Watertown was 21,598 at the 2000 census...
, they started a small farm, where Margarethe's gift for financial affairs put them at an advantage.
Margarethe Meyer brought Froebel's ideas to America. She spent 2 years in New York then went west.She employed Froebel's philosophy while caring for her daughter, Agathe Schurz, and four neighborhood children in Wisconsin, leading them in games, songs and group activities channeling their energy and preparing them for primary school. Other Wisconsin parents were impressed and prevailed upon Schurz to open a Watertown kindergarten, the first in the United States. And like most of the early kindergartens in the United States, the class was conducted in the German language. The Watertown kindergarten continued until the outbreak of World War I, when it was closed due to opposition to the German language’s use [Notation; the Watertown Kindergarten was in operation from fall of 1854 to fall of 1856, when Margarethe Schurz and her family relocated to Milwaukee, WI for the winters-returning to Watertown only in the summers*. In 1856 the mortgage on her home was foreclosed as a result she moved back to Hamburg in June of the same year. After a year or so she returned to America. She settled in Missouri The School did not continue after 1856 until it was brought back into public education [date unknown].
In 1859, the Transcendentalist Elizabeth Peabody
Elizabeth Peabody
Elizabeth Palmer Peabody was an American educator who opened the first English-language kindergarten in the United States. Long before most educators, Peabody embraced the premise that children's play has intrinsic developmental and educational value.-Biography:Peabody was born in Billerica,...
visited the Schurz home at Watertown, Wisconsin, and was impressed with the young Agathe Schurz's ability and maturity. Margarete Meyer-Schurz told her about Froebel's teachings, and Peabody converted to the kindergarten cause. While Mrs. Schurz's health became such that she could not continue with her work, Peabody became a nationally known advocate of early education, and helped bring kindergartens into widespread use.
Margarethe Meyer-Schurz died at the age of 43, on March 15, 1876, and only three days after the birth of her son, Herbert.
On May 2, 1929, a memorial tablet was dedicated in Watertown, Wisconsin, a few feet from the site of the building where she founded the first kindergarten in America.
"In memory of Mrs. Carl Schurz (Margarethe Meyer Schurz) Aug. 27, 1833 -- March 15, 1876, who established on this site the first kindergarten in America, 1856."
The restored first kindergarten building originally stood at the corner of N. Second and Jones Streets, Watertown, and was later moved to the grounds of the Octagon House
Octagon House (Watertown, Wisconsin)
The Octagon House in Watertown, Wisconsin, also known as the Octagon House Museum or the John Richards Octagon House, was built in 1854 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971...
in December 1956. The restored building was dedicated on September 15, 1957. The interior, a living room used as a classroom, remains furnished in the period and portrays a kindergarten class in progress.
Literature
- Wisconsin Historical Society-Watertown Times-09-07-1928 newspaper article; Watertown, the Birthplace of America's Kindergarten.
- Greta Anderson: More than Petticoats. Remarkable Wisconsin Women. Guilford/USA, 2004, S. 37–48
- Hannah Werwath Swart: Margarethe Meyer Schurz. A Biography. Watertown 1967.
- Heinrich Adolph Meyer: Erinnerungen an Heinrich Christian Meyer. Für die Familie gesammelt von seinem Sohne Heinr. Ad. Meyer. Hamburg 1887
- Amalie Henriette Westendarp: Meine Mutter. Agathe Margarethe Meyer, geb. Beusch. geb. 1794, gest. 1833. Handschriftliche Aufzeichnungen. Archiv der Firma H. C. Meyer jr. Hamburg 1887
- Dieter Rednak: Heinrich Christian Meyer (1797–1848) – genannt „Stockmeyer“. Vom Handwerker zum Großindustriellen. Eine biedermeierliche Karriere. Hamburg 1992
- Helmut und Marianne Hirsch: Stammte Margarethe Meyer-Schurz aus einer ursprünglich jüdischen Familie? Zur Problematik ihrer ersten Biographie.In: Ludger Heid, Joachim H. Knoll (Hrsg.) Deutsch- Jüdische Geschichte. Stuttgart/Bonn 1992, S. 85-106
- Marie Kortmann: Emilie Wüstenfeld. Eine Hamburger Bürgerin. Hamburg 1927
- Inge Grolle: Bertha Traun-Ronge 1818-1863). Das Ideal und das Leben. In: Irina Hundt (Hrsg.): Vom Salon zur Barrikade. Frauen der Heinezeit. Stuttgart 2002, S. 377–389.
- Inge Grolle: Die freisinnigen Frauen. Charlotte Paulsen, Johanna Goldschmidt, Emilie Wüstenfeld. Bremen 2000
- Rita Bake: Bertha Traun (Bertha Ronge geb. Meyer geschiedene Traun). Mitbegründerin des Frauenvereins zur Unterstützung der Deutschkatholiken, des Sozialen Vereins zur Ausgleichung konfessioneller Unterschiede und der Hochschule für das weibliche Geschlecht. In: Rita Bake/ Brita Reimers (Hrsg.): Stadt der toten Frauen. Frauenportraits und Lebensbilder vom Friedhof Hamburg Ohlsdorf. Hamburg 1997, S. 240–242
- Carl Schurz: Lebenserinnerungen. Vom deutschen Freiheitskämpfer zum amerikanischen Staatsmann. Mit einem Vorwort von Theodor Heuss. Zürich 1988
- Gerd Stolz: Wie der Kindergarten nach Amerika kam – Margarethe Meyer Schurz und die „deutsche Idee“. In: Globus, H. 4/2003, S. 6–9.
- Gerd Stolz: Margarethe Meyer Schurz – eine Pionierin der Kindergarten-Idee aus Norddeutschland in den USA. In: Natur- und Landeskunde, 111.Jg., H. 3/4, 2004, S. 29–35.
- Gerd Stolz: Das Leben der Margarethe Meyer Schurz. Wegbereiterin des Kindergartens in den USA. Husum 2007. ISBN 9783898763578
- James E. Haas: Conrad Poppenhusen. The Life of a German-American Industrial Pioneer. Baltimore 2004
- Eckhart Pilick: Lexikon freireligiöser Personen. Pfalz 2006
- Mrs. Follen: The Pedler of dust Sticks. Boston 1854
- Elizabeth Jenkins: How the Kindergarten Found its Way to America. Wisconsin Magazine of History 14.1 (1930), S. 46–62.
- Manfred Berger: Margaretha Schurz: Amerikas First Kindergarten, in: Kinderzeit 1996/H. 3
- Sylvia Paletschek: Frauen und Dissens. Frauen im Deutschkatholizismus und in den freien Gemeinden 1841–1852. Göttingen 1990