Friederike Zeileis (also known as Friederike Mekler von Traunwies, 20 December 1872 – 1954) was an Austrian women's right's activist and one of the founding members of the International Women's Suffrage Alliance. She was also involved in the founding and implementation of the Vienna Settlement Movement, serving in various capacities on its board from 1901 to 1932.

Friederike Zeileis
Born
Friederike Mautner von Markhof

(1872-12-20)20 December 1872
Died1954 (aged 81–82)
Gallspach, Austria
Other namesFriederike Mautner Markhof-Zeileis, Fritzi Mautner Markhof, Friederike Mekler von Traunwies, Friederike Mekler von Traunweis Zeileis
Occupation(s)women's rights activist, settlement worker
Years active1901–1932
SpouseValentin Zeileis [de]
RelativesAdolf Ignaz Mautner von Markhof [de] (grandfather)
FamilyMautner Markhof [de]

Early life edit

Friederike Mautner von Markhof, known as "Fritzi",[1] was born on 20 December 1872 in Großjedlersdorf [de], a village near Vienna, in Austria-Hungary to Karoline "Charlotte" (née Biehler) and Georg Heinrich Mautner von Markhof.[2] Her father's family [de], originally from Smiřice in Bohemia, were involved in brewing, and her grandfather, Adolf Ignaz Mautner von Markhof [de] was knighted for his development of a method to industrially produce compressed yeast. Her father expanded the brewery, which became the third-largest distillery in Europe,[3][4] opening a yeast and brewing factory in Floridsdorf in 1864 and another in 1893.[5] Mautner von Markhof grew up in the wealthy, assimilated Jewish family, known as much for their philanthropy as their entrepreneurial endeavors.[6][7] On 21 June 1894, she married Luther (Dr. Ludwig) Mekler von Traunwies, a Procurer for the Lower Austrian Financial Ministry,[1] who died in Baden on 2 September 1901.[8][Notes 1]

Activism edit

In 1901, Mekler von Traunwies, joined with founders, Marie Lang and Else Federn, and other interested women like Marianne Hainisch, Betty Kolm, Grete Löhr, Baroness Amelie von Langenau, and Lydia von Wolfring in the establishment of the Vienna Settlement Society [de].[10][11][Notes 2] Based on the model of the Passmore Edwards Settlement in London, the society aimed at uplifting the poor and provided a kindergarten, meals, medical clinics and theatrical evenings for children and their parents.[10][11]

By 1903, Mekler von Traunwies was serving as president of the Vienna Settlement Society and would hold the post for the next four years.[12] She attended the 2nd Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance held in Berlin in 1904, which was its organizational meeting and joined the association as one of the founding members.[15] In 1905, she married Valentin Zeileis [de], a divorcé with a young son, Friedrich G. Zeileis.[13][14] The newly constituted family moved into an apartment at #7 Reichsratstraße and Zeileis developed a strong bond with her new step-son.[13] In turn, her family influence was instrumental in helping Valentin make the business contacts he needed.[16] She continued her involvement in the suffrage movement, translating for Carrie Chapman Catt on a trip to Vienna in 1906. Catt and Aletta Jacobs made the trip to Austria after the Copenhagen Conference of the IWSA to discuss women's rights with Austrian feminists.[17] In 1907, she remained active in the Bund Österreichischer Frauenvereine [de] (Federation of Austrian Women's Organizations),[18] but stepped down as president of the Vienna Settlement Society, taking over the post as vice president. She would remain the vice president until 1920.[12]

 
Gallspach Castle

In 1912, Zeileis' husband Valentin bought the Gallspach Castle [de] from his friend Hugo Seyrl, a brewery owner. For eight years he commuted between Gallspach and Vienna, renovating the castle into a health spa. When the Austrian legislature passed a law in 1919 making all uninhabited castles subject to government expropriation, Valentin permanently settled his family in Gallspach.[13] Though Zeileis was no longer living in Vienna, she remained active in the settlement society, serving as both a member or on its board through at least 1932.[10][12][19]

Death and legacy edit

Zeileis died in 1954 (May 4) in Gallspach.

Notes edit

  1. ^ Though the Genealogisches Taschenbuch gives her husband's name as Alfred, and his death date as 1902,[9] other sources confirm his name was Luther and the death occurred in 1901.[1][8]
  2. ^ Korotin, and other sources for the Vienna Settlement Society give Mekler von Traunwies' name as Friederike Zeileis/Zeleis from 1901;[10][12] however, this seems unlikely. Her first husband did not die until 1901[9] and her second husband was still married to his first wife Helene Gundler until 1903. Further, Valentin Zeileis was divorced in 1903 and made a tour around the world before moving to Vienna and marrying the widow Mekler von Traunwies in 1905.[13][14]

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b c Neue Freie Presse 1894, p. 19.
  2. ^ Genealogisches Taschenbuch 1905, pp. 422–423.
  3. ^ Sammer & Kaiser-Cook 1995.
  4. ^ Kurir 1974.
  5. ^ Mentschl 1990.
  6. ^ Godsey 1996.
  7. ^ Krabina 2017.
  8. ^ a b Gambrinus 1901, p. 713.
  9. ^ a b Genealogisches Taschenbuch 1905, p. 423.
  10. ^ a b c d Korotin 2016, p. 783.
  11. ^ a b Women on the Move 2016, p. Historischer Überblick.
  12. ^ a b c d Women on the Move 2016, p. FunktionärInnen und Mitglieder.
  13. ^ a b c d Lackner 2005, p. 1.
  14. ^ a b Körner 2016, p. 42.
  15. ^ Harper 1922, p. 810.
  16. ^ Lackner 2005, p. 2.
  17. ^ Der Bund 1906, p. 6.
  18. ^ Hebammenzeitschrift 1907, p. 2.
  19. ^ Jahresbericht 1932, p. 2.

Bibliography edit

  • Godsey, William D. (January 1996). "The Nobility, Jewish Assimilation, and the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Service in the Late Imperial Era". Austrian History Yearbook. 27. University of Minnesota: 155–180. doi:10.1017/S0067237800005865. ISSN 1558-5255. S2CID 143346979. reference note 20. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  • Harper, Ida Husted, ed. (1922). History of Woman Suffrage. Vol. VI: 1900–1920. New York, New York: National American Woman Suffrage Association, J. J. Little Ives. OCLC 779069311.
  • Körner, Daniel (2016). Die Wunderheiler der Weimarer Republik: Protagonisten, Heilmethoden und Stellung innerhalb des Gesundheitsbetriebs [The Miracle Healers of the Weimar Republic: Protagonists, Healing Methods and Position within the Health Care Business] (in German). Freiburg, Germany: Centaurus Verlag & Media. ISBN 978-3-86226-969-3.
  • Korotin, Ilse (2016). "Federn, Else: Frauenrechtsaktivistin und Fürsorgerin". BiographiA: Lexikon österreichischer Frauen [Biography: Lexicon of Austrian women; Federn, Else: Women's Rights Activist and Social Worker] (PDF) (in German). Vol. 1: A – H. Vienna, Austria: Böhlau Verlag. pp. 782–783. ISBN 978-3-205-79590-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2018.
  • Krabina, Bernhard (27 September 2017). "Mautner Markhofsches Kinderspital" [Mautner Markhof's Children's Hospital]. Wien Geschichte Wiki (in German). Vienna, Austria: Vienna City and State Archives, Vienna City Library. Archived from the original on 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.Digitization project of Felix Czeike's Historical Dictionary of Vienna, (2nd edition 2004){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  • Kurir, A. (1974). "Mautner von Markhof, Georg Heinrich (1840–1904), Industrieller". biographien.ac.at (in German). Vienna, Austria: Austrian Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2019. Digitized from the Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon: 1815–1950, Vol. 6 (L 27, 1974), p. 166.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  • Lackner, Gottfried W. (December 2005). "Zeileis – eine Heilerdynastie" [Zeileis – a Healing Dynasty] (PDF). drlackner.at (in German). Spittal an der Drau, Austria: Gottfried W. Lackner. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2019. Self published research with sources by the head of the Spittal group of the Austrian Diabetic Association.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  • Mentschl, Josef (1990). "Mautner von Markhof, Adolf Ignaz Ritter (österreichischer Adel 1872)" [Mautner von Markhof, Adolf Ignaz Ritter (Austrian nobility 1872)]. deutsche-biographie.de (in German). Munich, Germany: Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2019. Digitized version of the New German Biography (1990), volume 16, page 453.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  • Sammer, Peter; Kaiser-Cooke, Michèle (translator), eds. (1995). "Mautner Markhof, Unternehmerfamilie". aeiou.at. Graz, Austria: Encyclopedia of Austria. Archived from the original on 7 January 2001. Retrieved 21 December 2019. {{cite web}}: |editor-first2= has generic name (help)
  • "Ein Tropfen bist du vereinzelt, ein gewaltiges Meer im großen Verein" [Occasionally you are a drop in a huge sea of big associations] (PDF). Hebammenzeitschrift (in German). 1 (3). Brno, Czech Republic: Hebammen Österreichs: 1–2. 15 September 1907. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  • Genealogisches Taschenbuch der adeligen Häuser Österreichs [Genealogical Journal of the Noble Houses of Austria] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Verlag Otto Maass' Söhne. 1905. OCLC 613458467.
  • Jahresbericht: Des Vereines "Settlement" für das Einunddreissigste Vereinsjahr 1931 [Annual Report: The "Settlement" Association for the Thirty-First Society Year 1931] (PDF) (Report). Vienna, Austria: Vienna Settlement Society. 24 June 1932. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  • "Kleine Chronit" [Little Chronicle] (PDF). Neue Freie Presse (in German). No. 10713. Vienna, Austria. 21 June 1894. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  • "Todesfälle" [Deaths] (PDF). Gambrinus, Brauer-und Hopfen-Zeitung (in German). Vol. 28, no. 18. Vienna, Austria. 15 September 1901. p. 713. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  • "Verein Wiener Settlement" [Vienna Settlement Society]. Frauen in Bewegung (in German). Vienna, Austria: Austrian National Library. 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  • "Warum die Frauen das Wahlrecht verlangen müssen" [Why Women Have To Demand the Right To Vote] (PDF). Der Bund (in German). 1 (7). Vienna, Austria: Bund österreichischer Frauenvereine: 5–6. November 1906. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.