Ruth Muzzy Conniston Morize (December 1, 1892 – October 3, 1952) was a

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

and

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, and received widespread media attention for her work as a

carillonneur A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

Life

Ruth Muzzy was born in

Bristol, Connecticut Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. The ...

, on December 1, 1892,''Boston Sunday Herald'', October 5, 1952. to Arthur George Muzzy and Martha Ellen Thomas Muzzy. She studied music at

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, receiving a bachelor's degree of music in 1915. Afterward, she studied organ with

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death. As a composer, much of his output was Organ (music), organ music, including six ...

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. On January 13, 1918, Ruth married Capt. Philip Conniston in Honolulu, but the marriage ended in 1920 due to his death. She taught music appreciation at

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by ...

(now Simmons University) and the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

in Boston. In addition to teaching, she volunteered with the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

and participated in Boston and New York society.''Boston Traveler'', May 16, 1952. She also published at least two collections of French songs, “''Chantons un Peu''” and “''La Cercle Francais''.” On June 27, 1929, Ruth Conniston married Andre Morize, a noted professor of French literature and culture 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 ...

. While Professor Morize directed the French summer school at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

, Ruth Morize organized the Music Center in the summer of 1938. The Music Center only ran for three years. As

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

spread throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Ruth Morize helped organize a unit of the Fighting French Relief and volunteered with American Aid to France and the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. In 1952, Andre Morize

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

d Ruth Morize, citing “unreasonable jealousy.” Ruth Morize challenged the validity of the French divorce, claiming desertion, and requested spousal support. The divorce was followed closely in the news. Additionally, as the case was tried in an American court, it raised the question of whether an American court could adjudicate a divorce from outside its jurisdiction and country. Ultimately, the

Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in Massachusetts. The county comprises the cities of Boston ...

court awarded Ruth Morize a $150 monthly stipend from her former husband's American funds. Ruth and Andre Morize

Ruth Muzzy Conniston Morize died on October 3, 1952, in Paris, France. Her ashes were placed in a niche at the

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria), also called a cinerarium, is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremated remains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin ''columba'' (dove) and originally solel ...

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

."Mrs. Andre Morize (Ruth M. Conniston), '15 Mus," Alumni Records Office, Yale University, RU 830, Series IX, Box 1151, Folder 27, Yale University Manuscripts and Archives.

References

External links

Harvard University Archives, Andre Morize personal archivePhotograph of Ruth Muzzy Conniston playing the carillon at Park Avenue Baptist Church (c1925-1930), from the Bok Tower Gardens Digital CollectionsResume for Ruth Muzzy Conniston, carillonneur and organist, dated January 1927-28, from the Bok Tower Gardens Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morize, Ruth Muzzy Conniston 1892 births 1952 deaths American socialites Musicians from Boston Carillonneurs American organists American women organists 20th-century American musicians Yale School of Music alumni 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century women musicians