Partner Carla Wenckebach

Queer Places:
Wellesley College (Seven Sisters), 106 Central St, Wellesley, MA 02481
Erlöserkirche Schwabing, Ungererstraße 15, 80802 München, Germany

Margarethe Müller (September 25, 1862 - January 1, 1934) was born on September 25, 1862, in Hannover, Germany, and became a distinguished educator and academic. During the 1890s, Müller joined the German department at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she became a vital colleague of Carla Wenckebach. Wenckebach, who had previously been deeply devoted to Wellesley president Alice Freeman Palmer, eventually formed a lifelong domestic and professional dyad with Müller. The two lived and worked together closely at Wellesley until Wenckebach's untimely death on December 29, 1902. In honor of her partner, Müller authored the 1908 biography Carla Wenckebach, Pioneer. Their academic collaboration included co-authoring educational texts such as Glück auf: A First German Reader, and Müller also authored the work Elsbeth: A Story of German Home Life.

Müller’s sister, Elsbeth Müller-Struss, born in Hannover in 1865, also played a significant role in the Wellesley community. Known as "Fraulein Elsbeth" to distinguish her from Margarethe, she taught in the German Department at Wellesley from 1890 to 1899. Elsbeth was highly regarded for her vivid, humorous nature and her skill as a teacher, winning numerous friends and admirers. Following her 1899 marriage to Herr Karl Struss of Hamburg, she remained a motherly adviser to many young Americans and established a summer school in Hamburg that provided inspiration to many teachers. Elsbeth remained deeply affected by the World War, and her grief over America’s stance toward Germany contributed to a nervous collapse that preceded her death in Hamburg in the latter part of November 1916. She was survived by her husband and her daughter, Carla Margarethe, who would have attended Wellesley had the war not interfered.

Müller eventually rose to the rank of Professor Emeritus before passing away in Munich on January 5, 1934. To cement her legacy and honor those closest to her, Margarethe Müller commissioned a memorial stone at the Erlöserkirche in Schwabing, Munich. The inscription on the monument reads: "Memorial stone for the German teachers of American youth at Wellesley College, Mass. Carla Wenckebach died in Wellesley in 1902. Elsbeth Müller-Struss died in Hamburg in 1916. Here rests in beloved German soil: Margarethe Müller, Professor Emeritus. Born in Hannover on September 25, 1862; died in Munich on January 5, 1934." By placing these names together on a single memorial, Müller permanently codified the deep professional and personal bonds she shared with Carla Wenckebach and her sister, Elsbeth.


Carla Wenckebach and Margarethe Müller

References:


To Believe In Women: What Lesbians Have Done For America - A History – A Compelling Landmark Account of 19th and 20th Century Rights
by Lillian Faderman
Improper Bostonians Lesbian and Gay Histor Paperback – January 1, 1998
by The History Project

Other References:

Support this project
This website is a passion project researched, developed, and funded entirely by me. If you find the content valuable and would like to help support the ongoing research and hosting costs, any contribution is deeply appreciated.
Thank you for keeping this independent resource alive!

My books on Amazon: Elisa Rolle's books

BACK TO HOME PAGE