{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}} thumb|Caroline-Ruutz-Rees in 1890. '''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 (CWSA).
== Biography == Ruutz-Rees was born in London on August 16, 1865.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=February 16, 1954 |title=Miss Ruutz-Reese, Rosemary Hall Founder, Dies |pages=11 |work=Record-Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115479361/record-journal/ |access-date=2022-12-31 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Slaga-Metivier |first=Susan J. |title=Biographical Sketch of Caroline Ruutz-Rees |url=https://documents.alexanderstreet.com/d/1010111766 |journal=Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890–1920 |via=Alexander Street}}</ref> She attended private schools in London.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0OwLAQAAMAAJ&dq=caroline+%22ruutz-rees%22&pg=PA180 |title=The Biographical Cyclopaedia of American Women |date=1924 |publisher=Halvord Publishing Company, Incorporated |pages=180–181 |language=en}}</ref> Ruutz-Rees came to the United States around 1882 or 1883, eventually becoming a naturalized citizen.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Armes |first=Ethel |date=February 15, 1914 |title=Women of Great Prominence Will Make Visit to Birmingham in March |pages=40 |work=The Birmingham News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115478979/the-birmingham-news/ |access-date=2022-12-31 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Suffragists in Greenwich |url=https://greenwichhistory.org/suffragists-in-greenwich/ |access-date=2023-01-07 |website=Greenwich Historical Society |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> In the years of 1898 and 1899, she studied advanced Greek courses at Yale's graduate school.<ref name=":6" />
In 1890, she started working as headmistress of Rosemary Hall, in Wallingford.<ref name=":0" /> The curriculum of Rosemary Hall was strong in the humanities, with Ruutz-Rees working "to empower young women to pursue a wide variety of intellectual studies."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Tony |date=March 29, 2019 |title=From Greenwich to Wallingford: RememberIng Life at Rosemary Hall |url=https://thechoatenews.choate.edu/2019/03/29/greenwich-wallingford-remembering-life-rosemary-hall/ |access-date=2022-12-31 |website=The Choate News |language=en-US}}</ref> The school, under her direction, was one of the first American girls' schools to require Uniforms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Asolando – Caroline Ruutz Rees |url=https://booklives.ca/islandora/object/booklives:1135 |access-date=2022-12-31 |website=Book Lives}}</ref> Ruutz-Rees' method of teaching and administrating the school was based on English girls' schools.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |date=November 1940 |title=75-Year-Old Londoner Honored by Her Girls of Rosemary Hall |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_newsweek-us_1940-11-04_16_19/page/48/mode/2up?q=%22caroline+ruutz+rees%22 |journal=Newsweek |volume=16 |issue=19 |pages=48 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> In 1900, the school was moved to Greenwich.<ref name=":3" /> She went to Scotland to study at St. Andrew's University, earning her degree in 1904.<ref name=":6" /> She studied French literature in Grenoble and in Paris.<ref name=":6" /> Ruutz-Rees earned her master's degree in 1909 and her doctorate in 1910 from Columbia University.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Baughman |first=Roland |date=May 1956 |title=Our Growing Collections |url=https://archive.org/details/ldpd_6309312_053/page/34/mode/2up?q=%22caroline+ruutz+rees%22 |journal=Columbia Library Columns |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=32 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> She wrote articles about French Literature for the Modern Language Association and wrote for ''Modern Language Notes, Romantic Review'' and the ''Yale Review.''<ref name=":6" /> In 1910, she published a book about Charles de Sainte-Marthe, ''Charles de Sainte-Marthe: A Study in French Renaissance''.<ref name=":6" />
Ruutz-Rees was very involved in the women's suffrage movement in Connecticut.<ref name=":4" /> She was part of the executive board of the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association (CWSA), served as vice president of the American Woman Suffrage Association, and was a founding member of the Greenwich Equal Franchise League.<ref name=":4" /> Ruutz-Rees also founded the National Junior Suffrage Corps around 1914.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=NAWSA |url=https://htext.stanford.edu/dd-ill/womansuffrage.pdf |title=The Hand Book of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and Proceedings of the Forty-Sixth Annual Convention Held at Nashville, Tennessee |publisher=N. W. S. Publishing Co., Inc. |year=1914 |location=New York |pages=43–44}}</ref> Ruutz-Rees participated in a large women's suffrage parade in Hartford in 1919.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Lemay |first=Kate |date=Fall 2019 |title=Caroline and Her Convictions |url=https://issuu.com/choaterosemaryhall/docs/204366_f19_bulletin_hr/s/156905 |journal=Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin |via=Issuu}}</ref> The suffragists presented a 27,000 signature petition in support of the women's vote to the Connecticut state legislature.<ref name=":1" /> During World War I, Ruutz-Rees served as the chair of the Woman's Committee of Connecticut's Council of Defense.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=July 1918 |title=Contributors to this Number of the Yale Review |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_yale-review_1918-07_7_4/page/n233/mode/2up?q=%22caroline+ruutz+rees%22 |journal=The Yale Review |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=x |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> She held the chair for more than a year, and resigned due to her other commitments.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 11, 1918 |title=Miss Ruutz-Rees Resigns as Chairman of Women's Division |pages=2 |work=Hartford Courant |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115983376/hartford-courant/ |access-date=2023-01-07 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She was also a supporter of the Woman's Land Army.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Kathleen Eagen |date=Winter 2015 |title=Greenwich Women Face the Great War |url=https://www.ctexplored.org/greenwich-women-face-the-great-war/ |access-date=2023-01-07 |website=Connecticut Explored |language=en-US}}</ref> At Rosemary Hall, Ruutz-Rees had students plant and care for community war gardens.<ref name=":5" />
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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 31, 1920 |title=Women Share Honors With Men on Executive Committee of Democratic National Committee |pages=3 |work=The Palm Beach Post |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115983575/the-palm-beach-post/ |access-date=2023-01-07 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1922, she was considered a possible Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 15, 1922 |title=Miss Ruutz-Rees May Be Candidate for U.S. Senate |pages=1 |work=The Bridgeport Telegram |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115983038/the-bridgeport-telegram/ |access-date=2023-01-07 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
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.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |date=May 1950 |title=Rosemary's Girls |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_newsweek-us_1950-05-15_35_20/page/80/mode/2up?q=%22caroline+ruutz+rees%22 |journal=Newsweek |volume=35 |issue=20 |pages=80–81 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=February 16, 1954 |title=Miss Caroline Ruutz-Rees, Founder of Rosemary Hall in Greenwich |pages=67 |work=Newsday (Nassau Edition) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115479847/newsday-nassau-edition/ |access-date=2022-12-31 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> During her life, she adopted two children.<ref name=":7" /> Ruutz-Rees died in her home in Greenwich on February 15, 1954.<ref name=":0" />
== References == <!-- See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners on how to create references. --> {{Reflist|30em}}
== External links ==
* [https://archives.library.wcsu.edu/omeka/items/show/5973?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Ruutz-Rees%2C+Caroline%2C+1865-&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CCreator "Why I am a Democrat" from an address by Caroline Ruutz-Rees]
{{DEFAULTSORT:RUUTZ-REES, CAROLINE}} {{Authority control}}
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Category:1865 births Category:1954 deaths Category:Academics from London Category:Activists from London Category:People from Greenwich, Connecticut Category:American women academics Category:American women educators Category:Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews Category:Columbia University alumni Category:British emigrants to the United States Category:Suffragists from Connecticut Category:American women human rights activists