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 Her full name was Margaretha Hedvig Johanna (Sundvall) Etholén. Married to a man 15 years her senior, she became pregnant early in their married life, gave birth on the long voyage from Finland to the Russian colony in New Archangel (Sitka), buried her first child soon after arriving in her new home; and built a wonderful reputation while supporting her husband's position as Company Manager/Governor of Russian Alaska. "During the Etholéns' time in New Archangel, the Russian-American Company requested that Madame Etholén establish a boarding school for girls who came from all settlements within the company's North Pacific domains. Prior to her marriage, Margaretha Etholén had taught at her uncle Odert Henrik Gripenberg's (1788-1848) school in Helsinki. Though now residing at the edge of the Alaskan wilderness, Mrs. Etholén remained passionately dedicated to education, and it was through her that Uno Cygnaeus was introduced to the theories of contemporary European educational reformers such as J. H. Pestalozzi." One of the special assistants in this educational endeavor was Maria Fri Fredenberg, hired as the teacher for Madame Etholen’s girls’ school in New Archangel. She served ably from 1842 to 1849. Also Lutheran, Maria was a member of the RAC Evangelical Lutheran parish. The school served the RAC’s sites across the North Pacific, including the Siberia, up to the time of the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States. Above quotation source: TRANSFIGURATIONS: Finns in Russian America. Maria Enckell and Heikki Hanka. Jyväskylä University. Printed in Finland by Kopijyvä, 2004. |
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