Marie Musaeus-Higgins
Early life and career
Marie Musaeus was born on May 18, 1855 in Wismar, in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany. Her father, Theodore Musaeus, was a High Court Judge and forestry magistrate. Marie was well educated in languages and arts, and became a teacher. When her brother Friedrich emigrated to the United States, she joined him there.[1]
After working as a teacher, Miss Musaeus took a civil service job in the Post Office Department in Washington, DC.[2][3][4]
Marie Musaeus met Anthony Higgins, and they were married, probably sometime in 1888. Anthony Higgins (October 1, 1840-June 26, 1912) was a lifelong resident of Delaware. Educated at Delaware College, Yale College and Harvard Law School, he practiced law in Wilmington; served in the Union Army in 1864; and entered politics as a Republican. He was elected as a United States Senator, serving from March 4, 1889, to March 3, 1895. The couple never had children; their marriage was unconventional in that Marie moved to Ceylon in 1891 and rarely returned.
Theosophical Society involvement
Both Marie and Anthony Higgins joined the Theosophical Society on May 28, 1889. They were founding members of the Blavatsky Theosophical Society in Washington, DC, which was chartered on June 16, 1889.[5][6][7] Mr. Higgins was the lodge president. Marie Musaeus-Higgins was reported to be a speaker at lodge meetings. In November 1889 she gave a talk called "A Theosophist’s Duty."[8]
Work in education
Writings
Mrs. Musaeus-Higgins wrote stories to educate children about the history of Ceylon and Buddhism.
- Poya Days. Colombo: Maha-Jana Press, 1925. Several later reprints. Available at Internet Archives.
- Stories from the History of Ceylon for Children. Colombo: Capper & Sons, 1910. Several later reprints. Volume 1 is available at Internet Archives.
- Stories from the History of Ceylon for Children. Colombo: Capper & Sons, 1910. Several later reprints. Volume 2 is available at Internet Archives.
Additional resources
- Marie Musaeus Higgins. This article has many errors and issues: husband's name was Anthony, not Anton; he was not an army officer, but a private, briefly, during the final year of the Civil War; Marie could not have gone to Ceylon in 1889, when she is documented as having been in Washington.
- Anthony Higgins (polititian) in Wikipedia. This article is very incomplete.
Notes
- ↑ Musaeus, mother and mentor from America" Daily News [Sri Lanka. November 19, 1912.
- ↑ U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995.
- ↑ U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959. 1887 volume.
- ↑ U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959. 1891 volume.
- ↑ Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at http://tsmembers.org/. See book 1, entry 5002 (website file: 1B/55).
- ↑ Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at http://tsmembers.org/. See book 1, entry 5003 (website file: 1B/55). This membership was under the name Anthony Higgins.
- ↑ Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at http://tsmembers.org/. See book 1, entry 5004 (website file: 1B/55). This redundant membership record was under the name Anthony P. Higgins.
- ↑ [Notice] Evening Star 75 (November 5, 1889): 4.