Anna "Annie" Laws (January 20, 1855 – July 1, 1927) was an American educator, clubwoman, and philanthropist based in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. She was president of the

International Kindergarten Union International Kindergarten Union (I.K.U.) (successor, Childhood Education International) was an American organization established at Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1892, in the interests of concerted action among the supporters of the kindergarten ...

from 1903 to 1905.

Early life and education

Anna Laws was born in Cincinnati, the daughter of James Hedding Laws and Sarah Amelia Langdon Laws. She attended Miss Appleton's School. In 1924, she received an honorary master's degree in education from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

, in recognition of her career in the field.

Career

Education

Laws co-founded the Cincinnati Kindergarten Association in 1879; she was president of the association from 1901 to 1927. "No one in Cincinnati thinks about kindergartens without thinking of Miss Annie Laws," explained a local history in 1927. She was president of the International Kindergarten Union from 1903 to 1905, and chaired the Union's "Committee of Nineteen", working with other kindergarten movement leaders including

Lucy Wheelock Lucy Wheelock (February 1, 1857October 1, 1946) was an American early childhood education pioneer within the American kindergarten movement. She began her career by teaching the kindergarten program at Chauncy-Hall School (1879–89). Wheelock was ...

Susan Blow Susan Elizabeth Blow (June 7, 1843 – March 27, 1916) was an American educator who opened the first successful public kindergarten in the United States. She was known as the "Mother of the Kindergarten." Early life The eldest of nine childre ...

Patty Hill Patty Smith Hill (March 27, 1868 – May 25, 1946)Snyder, Agnes. ''Dauntless Women in Childhood Education, 1856–1931.'' 1972. Washington, D.C.: Association for Childhood Education International. p. 233-270. was an American composer and teacher w ...

, and Elizabeth Harrison. From 1912 to 1916, Laws served on the

Cincinnati Board of Education Cincinnati Public Schools (often abbreviated CPS) is the U.S. state of Ohio's third-largest public school district, by enrollment, after Columbus City Schools and Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Cincinnati Public Schools is the largest O ...

, as its first woman member. Laws hosted meetings of the Cincinnati Visiting Nurse Association in her home. In 1888 she helped to establish the Cincinnati Training School for Nurses, and was president of the school. She founded the School for Household Arts in Cincinnati in 1910.

Clubwork

From 1892 to 1893, Laws was president of the Cincinnati Columbian Exposition Association. In 1894, she was one of the seven founders of the Cincinnati Woman's Club, and its first president. She was president of the Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs from 1907 to 1909. She served on the local program committee of the biennial meeting of the

General Federation of Women's Clubs The General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC), founded in 1890 during the Progressive Movement, is a federation of over 3,000 women's clubs in the United States which promote civic improvements through volunteer service. Many of its activities ...

, when it met in Cincinnati in 1910. She was president of the Cincinnati chapter of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

. She helped to organize Cincinnati's Ladies' Musical Club, the Folk-Lore Society, and the Storytellers' Guild, and she sang in the city's May Festival Chorus. She was a member of the Women's Council of Defense in Cincinnati during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. "It would be difficult to name any altruistic endeavor that had not received the support or indorsement of Miss Laws," noted a 1927 tribute.

Publications

* "Introduction", in ''The Kindergarten; Reports of the Committee of Nineteen on the Theory and Practice of the Kindergarten'' (1913) * ''History of the Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs for the First Thirty Years, 1894–1924'' (1924, editor and compiler)

Personal life and legacy

Laws lived with her younger sister Alice in Avondale, Ohio. She died at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati in 1927, at the age of 72. There is a collection of papers related to Laws in the University of Cincinnati Libraries, which also holds the records of the Cincinnati Kindergarten Association. A portrait of Annie Laws, painted by

Dixie Selden Dixie Selden (February 28, 1868November 15, 1935) was an American artist. She studied with Frank Duveneck, who was a mentor and significant influence, and William Merritt Chase, who introduced her to Impressionism. Selden painted portraits of Ame ...

, is in the collection of the University of Cincinnati Fine Arts Collection. The Annie Laws Auditorium at the University of Cincinnati was built and named in her memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laws, Annie 1855 births 1927 deaths People from Cincinnati American educators Clubwomen