Ellen Gates Starr facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ellen Gates Starr
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Starr in 1914
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| Born | March 19, 1859 Laona, Illinois, U.S.
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| Died | February 10, 1940 (aged 80) Suffern, New York, U.S.
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| Education | Rockford Female Seminary |
Ellen Gates Starr (born March 19, 1859 – died February 10, 1940) was an American social reformer and activist. She worked to make society better for everyone. With her friend Jane Addams, she started Hull House in Chicago in 1889. Hull House was a special place that helped people learn and grow, and it became very important in its neighborhood.
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Ellen Starr's Early Life and School
Ellen Gates Starr was born on March 19, 1859, in Laona, Illinois. Her parents were Caleb Allen Starr and Susan Gates.
From 1877 to 1878, Ellen went to Rockford Female Seminary, a school where she first met Jane Addams. She had to leave school because of money problems. After that, she taught in Chicago for ten years.
Working for Social Change
In 1888, Ellen Starr traveled to Europe with Jane Addams. While they were in London, they saw how successful the English Settlement movement was. This inspired them to create a similar place in Chicago.
When they returned to Chicago in 1889, they started Hull House. It began as a kindergarten, then added a day nursery and a place for babies. It also became a center where adults could continue their education.
Art and Craft at Hull House
In 1891, Ellen Starr opened the Butler Art Gallery at Hull House. This was the first new part added to the Hull mansion. She traveled to England to learn from a famous bookbinder named T. J. Cobden-Sanderson.
When she came back, she started a bookbinding class at Hull House in 1898. Later, she also began an arts and crafts business school there.
Ellen also wanted to bring the Arts and Crafts movement to Chicago. This movement focused on making beautiful, handmade items. In 1894, she helped create the Chicago Public School Art Society. This group aimed to provide original artworks and good copies to schools. They believed art could help students learn and appreciate beauty, which would make them better citizens. Ellen was the president of this society until 1897. After that, she founded the Chicago Society of Arts and Crafts.
Fighting for Workers' Rights
Ellen Starr also worked hard to change child labor laws. She wanted to improve working conditions in factories in Chicago. She was a member of the Women's Trade Union League. This group helped organize workers who were on strike in 1896, 1910, and 1915.
Ellen believed that the old ways of making things, like the guild system from the Middle Ages, were better than modern factories. She was even arrested during a restaurant workers' strike. In the poor areas of Chicago, she taught children who couldn't afford school about famous writers like Dante and Robert Browning.
Ellen Starr's Personal Life
Her Faith and Beliefs
Ellen Starr joined the Episcopal Church in 1883. By 1894, she was part of a group called the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross. This was an Episcopal women's prayer group that combined prayer with working for social justice.
This group included many important reformers from around the United States. They would meet each summer for a retreat. This allowed the women to connect spiritually, share ideas, and learn about social issues.
Ellen was interested in the Catholic Church for many years. In 1920, she converted to Catholicism. She felt the Church was serious about teaching social justice. However, her work against child labor sometimes faced challenges from within the Church.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1929, Ellen had surgery to remove a problem in her spine. This surgery caused her to become paralyzed from the waist down. In 1931, she was very ill and moved to a Catholic convent in Suffern, New York. There, she was cared for by the Sisters of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus. She was not a member of their religious community, but they looked after her.
After eight years of being unable to move much, Ellen Starr passed away at the convent on February 10, 1940.
In Media
In 2016, an old elementary school in Chicago was used for an immersive theater play called Learning Curve. The play transformed the school into "Ellen Gates Starr High School," named after the co-founder of Hull House.
Selected Works
- (1896) Settlements and the church's duty
- (n.d.) Reflections on the breviary
See also
In Spanish: Ellen Gates Starr para niños
