Wikipedia

Minnetta Sammis Leonard

Minnetta Sammis Leonard (1879 – October 15, 1960) was an American educator, and editor of The Home Educator (1923), a parenting manual.

Minnetta Sammis Leonard
A young white woman with dark hair in an updo
Minnetta Sammis (later Leonard), from the 1906 yearbook of Teachers College, Columbia University
Born
Minnetta Florence Sammis

1879
Indiana
DiedOctober 15, 1960
Madison, Wisconsin
ChildrenBarbara Leonard Reynolds
RelativesEarle L. Reynolds (son-in-law)
John H. Sammis (uncle)

Early life and education

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Sammis was born in Indiana, the daughter of David Sturges Sprague Sammis[1] and Adelaide F. Hall Sammis. Hymn writer John H. Sammis was her uncle. She graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1906.[2]

Career

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After college, Sammis was Supervisor of Kindergarten Work in the Oglethorpe School at Atlanta University.[3] Leonard taught kindergarten education courses at the Milwaukee State Normal School. She was president of the Wisconsin Kindergarten Association.[4] She served on the advisory board of Parents' Magazine,[5] and on the editorial board of The Home Kindergarten Manual (1921).[6]

Leonard spoke about her work to community groups,[7] including the American Association of University Women.[8][9] In 1940, she was director of a kindergarten program in Madison, Wisconsin.[10] She visited Indonesia and Japan in 1956[11] and Hawaii in 1958,[12] while her daughter was abroad. She was active in the Woman's Club of Madison,[13][14] and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.[15] In her last years, she cared for her grandson Ted Reynolds when he was a student in Madison.[16]

Publications

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  • "The Kindergarten as a Socializing Agency" (1912)
  • The Home Educator: The Foundation Library (1923, editor, with Patty Smith Hill)[17]
     
    Minnetta Sammis Leonard, center, with her daughter Barbara Leonard Reynolds (left) and her granddaughter, Jessica, in Honolulu in the 1950s
  • "The Wisconsin Kindergarten Association" (1925)[4]
  • Best Toys for Children and Their Selection (1925)[18]
  • "Buying the Gift to Fit the Child" (1926)[19]
  • "A Call on Santa Claus" (1926)[20]
  • *Buying Toys with an Eye to the Future"[21]
  • "Toys for Travelers and Stay-at-Homes" (1929)[22]

Personal life

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Sammis married English professor Sterling Andrus Leonard in 1913.[23] They had a daughter, Barbara Leonard Reynolds,[24] who became a noted peace activist with her husband, Earle L. Reynolds.[25][26] Sterling Leonard drowned while canoeing with I. A. Richards on Lake Mendota in 1931.[27] She died in 1960, in Madison, at the age of 86.[15][28]

References

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  1. ^ "Obituary: David Sturgis Sprague Sammis". The Brooklyn Citizen. 1895-05-20. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Teachers College, Columbia University. Class Book (1906 yearbook): 100, via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Atlanta University (1907). Catalogue of Atlanta University. The University.
  4. ^ a b Leonard, Minnetta S. (February 1925). "The Wisconsin Kindergarten Association". The Wisconsin Journal of Education. 57 (6): 180–183 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Masthead". Parents' Magazine. 4 (8): 4. August 1929.
  6. ^ New York University Society (1921). The Home kindergarten manual; a handbook of the education and character-training of little children for parents and teachers. The Library of Congress. New York, The University society, incorporated. pp. iii.
  7. ^ "Toys Should Aid Child Development". Wisconsin State Journal. 1922-11-29. p. 24. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Prof. Troutman, Mrs. Leonard on A.A.U.W. Program". Wisconsin State Journal. 1931-02-01. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "University Women Set Nov. 4 to 9 for Annual Exhibit of Toys". The Indianapolis Times. 1935-10-26. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Yohn, Madge (1940-12-12). "All Around the Town". The Capital Times. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Local Woman Meets Daughter on Isle of Bali". The Capital Times. 1956-08-10. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Mrs. Leonard Back from Honolulu Stay". Wisconsin State Journal. 1958-10-30. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Woman's Club Plans Indian Program". Wisconsin State Journal. 1958-04-27. p. 57. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Woman's Club History Section's Meeting Plans". The Capital Times. 1958-01-09. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b "Mrs. Leonard, Professor's Widow, Dies". Wisconsin State Journal. 1960-10-16. p. 29. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Simplot, John (1957-06-28). "Ted Reynolds Arrives in City After Three-Year Ocean Voyage". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 17. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Leonard, Minnetta Sammis. "The home educator". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  18. ^ Leonard, Minnetta Sammis (1925). Best Toys for Children and Their Selection. Democrat printing Company.
  19. ^ Leonard, Minnetta Sammis (November 1926). "Buying the Gift to Fit the Child". Parents' Magazine. 1 (2): 32–33 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ Leonard, Minnetta Sammis (December 1926). "A Call on Santa Claus". Parents' Magazine. 1 (3): 24–25 – via Internet Archive.
  21. ^ Leonard, Minetta Sammis. "Buying Toys with an Eye on the Future." Parents Magazine 6: 24-25.
  22. ^ Leonard, Minnetta Sammis (August 1929). "Toys for Travelers and Stay-at-Homes". Parents' Magazine. 4 (8): 18–19 – via Internet Archive.
  23. ^ "Badger News Briefly Told". Stevens Point Gazette. January 7, 1914. p. 9. Retrieved December 17, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  24. ^ "Miss Barbara Leonard to Wed Earle Reynolds". Wisconsin State Journal. 1936-01-19. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Local Woman Made Pacific Cruise". The Terre Haute Tribune. 1957-06-10. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Reynolds Denied Rights, U.S. Admits". The Capital Times. 1959-03-20. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  27. ^ "Boat Upsets; Educator Dies, Another Saved". Chicago Daily Tribune. May 16, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved December 17, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  28. ^ "$50,000 Left by Mrs. Leonard". The Capital Times. 1960-10-28. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-12-18 – via Newspapers.com.
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