|
Part of the American
History & Genealogy Project |
Emilie Schaumburg
Miss Emilie Schaumburg was a Philadelphia social celebrity. Her
grand-father, Colonel Bartholemew Schaumburg, of New Orleans,
was a ward of the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, and educated under
the auspices of Frederick the Great at the German Military
School He was commissioned an officer in the Grenadier Guards,
and was sent to this country as adjutant and aide-de-camp to
General Count Donop. Colonel Schaumburg, however, never joined
Count Donop, as their vessel became separated from the fleet in
a storm and came up the Delaware, anchoring at Newcastle where
they learned the nature of the struggle for independence.
Preferring to fight for a people struggling for their
independence rather than for England they joined General
Washington and were incorporated into General Sullivan's German
Legion and served loyally under Washington throughout the
Revolutionary War.
Colonel Schaumburg sacrificed his title and much of his property
by espousing the American cause. He was later earnestly
solicited by his relatives to return to Germany, but he refused
and married a lady who was a descendant of a noted Indian chief
of the Lenape Tribe who signed the Treaty of 1685 with William
Penn, selling him the large tract of land on which Philadelphia
is situated.
Miss Schaumburg is the eighth descendant in a direct line from
this aboriginal princess, and was born in New Orleans, though
she spent most of her life in Philadelphia. The early portion of
her education was largely directed by the Honorable H. D.
Gilpin. She had the added accomplishment of speaking several
modem languages. When the Prince of Wales visited Philadelphia
with his suite, he spent the only evening of his stay at the
Academy of Music. He was greatly attracted by the beauty of Miss
Schaumburg, and it is said that he declared her the most
beautiful woman he had seen in America.
When the great Sanitary Fair was held in Philadelphia, a play
was given in which the principal parts were taken by the leading
society people of Philadelphia. The one given under the title
"The Ladies' Battle," in which Miss Schaumburg sustained the
principal role, created a great furore and it was remembered as
a piece of acting unrivaled on the American stage. Miss
Schaumburg was invited to Chicago when the fair was given there,
to take the leading part, and she sustained with credit the
great role of Peg Woffington. Miss Schaumburg frequently lent
her talent to the cause of charity, and became quite well known
throughout the United States for her remarkable gifts in this
line.
Women of
America
Source: The Part Taken by Women in
American History, By Mrs. John A. Logan, Published by The Perry-Nalle
Publishing Company, Wilmington, Delaware, 1912.
|