Anna Suffía Rasmussen (née av Skarði), (31 January 1876 – 4 November 1932) was a Faroese educator.

Early life

Anna Suffía Rasmussen was born on 31 January 1876 in

Skarð Skarð (pronounced ) is an abandoned village on the east coast of the island of Kunoy in the Norðoyar region of the Faroes. Skarð means ''mountain pass''. On December 23, 1913, all seven able-bodied men of the village perished while out fis ...

as Anna Suffía (or Onna Sofía) Johannesen, daughter of Johannes Frederik Johannesen and Else Frederikke Matras.Føroya Fólkaháskúli: R. Rasmussen og kona.
/ref> She grew up in the small fishing village in the north of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

. She and her only sibling, Símun, were also known as Anna Sofiá and Símun av Skarði, ‘from Skarð’.''Jacobsen, Óli (27JJanuary 2012).
Háskúlin: Ein partur av søguni er í gamla kirkjugarði
� (PDF). Sosialurin (færøysk): 17.'' Rasmussen's mother was from the Matras family of

Viðareiði Viðareiði (, literally: ''Wood-Isthmus'', ) is the northernmost settlement in the Faroe Islands and lies on the Island of Viðoy, which belongs to the Norðoyar Region. Geography It lies on an isthmus with high mountains to both the north and s ...

, who were descended from the barber and farmer Hans Albertsen Matras, who move to the Faroe Islands from

Nakskov Nakskov is a market town on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. The town has a population of 12,200 (1 January 2025) and is the largest town on the island of Lolland. It is located in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland. Nakskov is situ ...

in 1707. The Faroese politicians Hans David Matras and Joen Michael Matras were relations on her mother's side. The village of Skarð was later abandoned after all able-bodied men in the village were shipwrecked and died at sea on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

1913.

Career

Her brother

Símun av Skarði Símun av Skarði (3 May 1872 – 9 October 1942) was a Faroese poet, politician, and teacher. Biography Símun was born in the village of Skarð on Kunoy. In 1893, he entered the seminary in Tórshavn, which he graduated from as a teacher i ...

lost one of his feet and was unable to work as a fisherman as did most men in their village, so he trained to become a teacher. Inspired by the Danish

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

adult education movement, Símun and Rasmus Rasmussen joined forces to establish Føroya Fólkaháskúli, a Faroese folk high school in 1899. It was the first school in the

to teach in the Faroese language. The school began in temporary premises in

Klaksvík Klaksvík () is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands behind Tórshavn. The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands (the Norðoyar). It is the administrative centre of Klaksvík municipality. History The fir ...

, and moved to

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; ; Danish language, Danish: ''Thorshavn''), usually locally referred to as simply Havn, is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of th ...

, the capital of the Faroe Islands, in 1909. Anna Sofía was involved from the start of the school as housekeeper and teacher of domestic science. Her sister-in-law Sanna av Skarði eventually took over as housekeeper. Her niece was the journalist Sigrið av Skarði Joensen.

Personal life

Anna Suffía Johannesen married Rasmus Rasmussen in 1904. Her brother

, had co-founded the Faroese

Folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

Faroese Folk High School () with her husband in

in 1899.Pons, Christophe. 2011. The Anthropology of Christianity in the Faroe Islands. In: Firouz Gaini (ed.), ''Among the Islanders of the North: An Anthropology of the Faroe Islands'', pp. 80–131. Tórshavn: Fróðskapur / Faroe University Press, p. 91.Føroya Fólkaháskúli: Alment un skúlan.
/ref> Anna Suffía Rasmussen died age 56 on 4 November 1932 in Tórshavn.''«Anna Sofía Rasmussen». Dimmalætting (Danish): 2. 5. november 1932.''

Commemoration

In 2000, she was featured on a Faroese stamp together with her sister-in-law Sanna av Skarði. They were the first women to be depicted on Faroese stamps, preceded only by painter Ruth Smith's self-portrait.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmussen, Anna Suffia 1876 births 1932 deaths Faroese women Faroese schoolteachers