Anna Behr Uhl Ottendorfer

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Anna Ottendorfer (b. February 13, 1815 in Würzburg, Bavaria; d. April 1, 1884 in New York City) was (with her husband) publisher of the influential German language newspaper New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung. A prominent and well-loved philanthropist, she founded the Isabella Home for Aged German Women and contributed liberally to many other charitable institutions. William was friends with the Ottendorfers. From early in the diary he mentions occasions when he socialized with them or cooperated with her charitable efforts.

Anna Behr (sometimes listed as Anna Sartorius) emigrated from Bavaria to the United States in 1837 and shortly after married a printer, Jacob Uhl. Uhl purchased the New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung, a small weekly newspaper, in 1845. By 1849 Uhl, with Anna's assistance, was able to publish daily. Anna helped with editorial planning and business management. After Jacob's death in 1852 Anna, while caring for six children, continued managing the paper on her own and presided over its continuing prosperity and influence.(13)(14)

Anna made Oswald Ottendorfer, a lawyer and linguist, editor in 1958. The two were married in July 1859. The Staats-Zeitung spoke for the liberal German community not only in New York but also for other German communities throughout the country. The paper supported the Union during the Civil War, opposed Tammany Hall, and became a major player in the New York political scene. Circulation grew, reaching 55,000 in 1872.(13)(14)

As the Staats-Zeitung prospered, Anna turned to philanthropy. The focus of her giving was the welfare of women and children (with an emphasis on Germans) and the preservation of German language and culture. The gifts included:

In 1875 $100,000 for the Isabella Heimat [Home] for aged German women. It was a memorial for her daughter Isabella Uhl who was dedicated to the care of indigent elderly women and died at age 24. The Home opened in Astoria, Long Island and in 1889, moved to Manhattan at 515 Audubon Street. It is now known as the Isabella Geriatric Center.(1)(5)(9)(14)

In 1881 $100,000 for the Hermann Uhl Memorial Funds for the promotion of German language instruction in America (especially New York and Milwaukee education systems), a memorial to her son Brigadier General Herman Uhl who died at age 39, shot by his own revolver when he was showing it to his guests.(9)(14)

In 1881 $200,000 to the Michigan Fire Relief Commission to aid victims of severe fires following six weeks of drought in the Saginaw Valley.(4)(8)

In 1882 a total of $225,000 for the opening of Anna Ottendorfer Women's Pavilion at the German Hospital and Dispensary (renamed in 1918 as Lenox Hill Hospital) and the 1884 completion of a German dispensary and reading room.(9)(14)(15)

In 1882-83 contributions to the flood victims in Germany.(16)

In 1884 opening at Second Avenue and 9th Street, the German Polyclinic (a branch of the German Hospital) and a lending library (later a branch of the New York Public Library). Anna provided the land and the building, Oswald gave the furnishings and the thousands of books, half of them in German. These buildings, designed by the architect William Schickel, are designated New York landmarks.(6)(7)(9)

In addition, in 1879 when the paper became a stock company, Anna arranged for employees of the Staats-Zeitung to be provided a ten percent dividend on their annual salaries.(2)

William was friendly with Oswald Ottendorfer and thus knew Anna. He attended the opening of the Isabella Home as well as a later event there where he took coffee and champagne.(Diary, 1875-05-15; 1875-06-26) He worked with Anna to arrange a concert for the Ladies Society for German Widows and Orphans.(Diary, 1877-02-01) William often attended evenings at the Ottendorfers, once noting they had a beautiful place on 135th Street.(Diary, 1876-08-11; 1877-08-18;1880-01-02) At one evening William noted that they sang quartets and he was "in magnificent voice."(Diary, 1878-08-24) William marched at the head of the Liederkranz procession that attended Anna's funeral and served as a pall bearer. William also, as did Anna's husband, posted bond for one million dollars for Anna's son Edward Uhl as administrator of her estate.(Diary, 1884-04-26)

In 1883 Anna was decorated for her humanitarian work by the German Empress Augusta. In February of that year she suffered a disabling heart attack. She died the following year on April 1 at the age of 69.(10)(14)

Anna's funeral was held at the Ottendorfer home at 7 East Seventeenth St. in New York City. Fifty policemen were employed to control the crowd. Blocks of Fifth Avenue were lined with coaches waiting for people to enter to view the body. The New York Times opined that it was probable that no woman who died in the city had a larger funeral and reported that City Hall flags were at half-mast during the day. In his eulogy Carl Schurz said "Whenever our people gratefully point out their benefactors, whenever the Germans of America speak of those who are objects of their veneration and their pride, the name of Anna Ottendorfer will assuredly be among the first. For all time to come her memory and her work will be blessed." Over two hundred carriages proceeded to Green-Wood Cemetery for interment.(2)(3)(11)

Anna's estate was valued at $3,000,000 After bequests for her family, Anna bequeathed specific sums to two employees and the widow of one employee as well as $25,000 to be divided among employees of the New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung. Specific charitable bequests went to Deutscher Frauerverein of New York, the German Hospital and Dispensary, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the German Hospital of Newark, the Isabella Home, the United Relief Works of the Society for Ethical Culture of New York, and Das Nationale Deutsch-Amerikanische Lehrer Seminar of Milwaukee.(12)(17)

Sources:
1. "A Worthy German Charity," The New York Times, March 31, 1879, p. 8.
2. Bolton, Sarah Knowles. Famous Givers and their Gifts. New York: T.Y. Crowell & Co., 1896, pp. 328-31.
3. "Funeral of Mrs. Ottendorfer," The New York Times, April 3, 1884, p. 8.
4. "Great Forest Fires," The New York Times, September 7, 1881, p. 2.
5. "Isabella, History and Overview," available from the Isabella Geriatric Center Web site.
http://isabella.org/Isabella/AboutUs/History
6. Landmarks Preservation Commission, LP-0924, November 9, 1976, Number 5
7. Landmarks Preservation Commission, LP-0969, September 20, 1977, Number 3
8. "Money Still Greatly Needed," New-York Tribune, September 23, 1881, p. 8.
9. Niers, Gert. "Benefactor with a World View." Trans, Heidi Varblow. Das Fenster, January 2008, pp. 42-43.
10. "Mrs. Ottendorfer Decorated," The New York Times, November 5, 1883, p. 2.
11. "Mrs. Ottendorfer's Funeral," The Sun, April 5, 1884, p. 3.
12. "Mrs. Ottendorfer's Will," The Sun, April 9, 1884, p. 4
13. "Ottendorfer, Anna Behr," The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. New York: James T. White & Company, 1924, vol. VIII, p. 194.
14. "Ottendorfer, Anna Sartorius Uhl," Notable American Women 1607-1950. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971, vol. II, pp. 656-57.
15. "Our History," available from the Lexox Hill Hospital Web site.
http://www.lenoxhillhospital.org/aboutus
16. Wilk, Gerard. Americans from Germany. Indianapolis: Max Kade German-American Center and Indiana German Heritage Society, Inc., 1995, pp. 37-38.
17. "The Will of Mrs. Ottendorfer," New-York Tribune, April 9, 1884, p. 8.