Caroline Ruutz-Rees (August 16, 1865 – February 15, 1954) was a British–American academic, educator, and suffragist. Ruutz-Rees was very involved in the women's suffrage movement in Connecticut. She served as the first head teacher of Rosemary Hall. She was also a member of the executive board of the

Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association The Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association (CWSA) was founded on October 28, 1869, by Isabella Beecher Hooker and Frances Ellen Burr at Connecticut's first suffrage convention. Its main goal was to persuade the Connecticut General Assembly to rat ...

(CWSA).

Biography

Ruutz-Rees was born in London on August 16, 1865. She attended private schools in London. Ruutz-Rees came to the United States around 1882 or 1883, eventually becoming a

naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

. The next year, she started teaching at the St. John the Baptist School in New York and later, at the St. Mary's School in

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a City (New Jersey), city situated on the banks of the Delaware River in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the c ...

. In the years of 1898 and 1899, she studied advanced

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

courses at Yale's graduate school. In 1890, she started working as headmistress of Rosemary Hall, in Wallingford. The curriculum of Rosemary Hall was strong in the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

, with Ruutz-Rees working "to empower young women to pursue a wide variety of intellectual studies." The school, under her direction, was one of the first American girls' schools to require

Uniform A uniform is a variety of costume worn by members of an organization while usually participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency serv ...

s. Ruutz-Rees' method of teaching and administrating the school was based on English

girls' schools Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, same-sex education, same-gender education, and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in se ...

. In 1900, the school was moved to Greenwich. She went to

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 ...

to study at St. Andrew's University, earning her degree in 1904. She studied

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

and in Paris. Ruutz-Rees earned her master's degree in 1909 and her doctorate in 1910 from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She wrote articles about French Literature for the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...

and wrote for ''

Modern Language Notes ''Modern Language Notes'' (''MLN'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1886 at the Johns Hopkins University, with the intention of introducing continental European literary criticism into American scholarship. The journal is publis ...

, Romantic Review'' and the ''

Yale Review ''The Yale Review'' is the oldest literary journal in the United States. It is published by Johns Hopkins University Press. It was founded in 1819 as ''The Christian Spectator'' to support Evangelicalism. Over time it began to publish more on ...

.'' In 1910, she published a book about

Charles de Sainte-Marthe Charles de Sainte-Marthe (1512–1555) was a French Protestant and theologian. External links * 1512 births 1555 deaths French Renaissance humanists French Protestant theologians 16th-century Protestant theologians 16th-century French ...

, ''Charles de Sainte-Marthe: A Study in French Renaissance''. Ruutz-Rees was very involved in the women's suffrage movement in Connecticut. She was part of the executive board of the

(CWSA), served as vice president of the

American Woman Suffrage Association The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was a single-issue national organization formed in 1869 to work for women's suffrage in the United States. The AWSA lobbied state governments to enact laws granting or expanding women's right to vot ...

, and was a founding member of the Greenwich Equal Franchise League. Ruutz-Rees also founded the National Junior Suffrage Corps around 1914. Ruutz-Rees participated in a large women's suffrage parade in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

in 1919. The suffragists presented a 27,000 signature petition in support of the women's vote to the

Connecticut state legislature The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Ther ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Ruutz-Rees served as the chair of the Woman's Committee of Connecticut's Council of Defense. She held the chair for more than a year, and resigned due to her other commitments. She was also a supporter of the Woman's Land Army. At Rosemary Hall, Ruutz-Rees had students plant and care for community war gardens. Ruutz-Rees continued to participate in civic life after women won the vote. In 1920, she was appointed to the executive committee of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

. In 1922, she was considered a possible Democratic candidate for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. Ruutz-Rees turned over the full-time administration of the school to Eugenia Baker Jessup in 1938 and continued to work with the school after her retirement. During her life, she

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

two children. Ruutz-Rees died in her home in Greenwich on February 15, 1954.

References

External links

"Why I am a Democrat" from an address by Caroline Ruutz-Rees
{{Authority control 1865 births 1954 deaths Academics from London Activists from London People from Greenwich, Connecticut American women academics American women educators Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Alumni of the University of St Andrews Columbia University alumni British emigrants to the United States Suffragists from Connecticut