1. ELIZABETH PALMER PEABODY
BY: KATHERINE VILLARREAL

2. Elizabeth Peabody was born May 16, 1804 in Billerica, Massachusetts.

3. FAMILY OF ELIZABETH
PEABODY
Nathaniel Peabody (Father)
March 30, 1774 – 1855
Studied in medical profession.
Became a dentist.
Never had financial stability for his family.
Taught his daughters to speak Latin.
Eliza Palmer Peabody (Mother)
February 28,1778- January 4,1853
Opened her first school in Billerica, MA.
Opened second school in Cambridge, MA.
Taught her daughters to read and write,
study literature, philosophy, and theology.
Great influence on the family.

4. FAMILY OF
ELIZABETH PEABODY
Sophia Peabody (Sister)
September 21, 1809-February 26, 1871
She was a painter and illustrator.
Married author Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Villa Menaggio, Lago di Como, by Sophia
Peabody 1839-40
Mary Peabody (Sister)
November 16, 1807-February 11, 1887
She was a teacher, author, education reformer.
Married education reformist Horace Mann.
Juanita : A Romance of Real Life in Cuba Fifty
Years Ago
Author: Mary Peabody
Originally published in 1877.

5. Elizabeth Peabody was educated by her mother who
operated an advanced girls school in Lanchester, PA.
She studied the Greek language with Ralph Waldo
Emerson who was an American lecturer and poet.
In 1825, she met William Ellery Channing who
introduced her to the Romantic philosophers and
poets of the day, and examined the theology of
Unitarianism.
EDUCATION
BACKGROUND

6. • The Polish-American System of Chronology, Published 1852
• Moral Culture of Infancy, and Kindergarten Guide, Published 1864
• Kindergarten Culture, Published in 1870
• Lecture in the Training Schools for Kindergarten, Published in 1886
• Letters to Kindergarten, Published 1886
AUTHOR:
ELIZABETH PEABODY

7. • At age sixteen, Elizabeth took over her mothers school in
Lanchester, MA.
• In 1823 , she traveled to Hallowell, ME to teach the youngest
members of the Vaughan family.
• In 1825, Elizabeth and sister Mary open an all girl school in
the suburb of Brookline. The school did very well, they
opened a second school in Beacon Hill.
• In 1828, both schools closed as students were hard to enroll.
• In 1834 her all boy school dream came to reality, when she
came across Bronson Alcott. He was an American teacher,
writer, philosopher, and reformist.
SCHOOLS MANAGED
BY
MISS PEABODY

8. • Temple School opened September 22,1934, with eighteen male
students enrolled.
• Elizabeth taught the students Latin, math, and geography.
• Alcott blended collective learning with Coleridge’s theory,
which was how to resolve arguments.
• Alcott’s philosophy in school was the students had to explore,
study and have their own imagination.
• Students were not having fun in school as Alcott was reserved
with his strict discipline. Parents became worried they were not
receiving the correct study material.
• In 1836, Peabody resigned from Temple School as she no
longer approved of Alcott’s teaching method, and was not
receiving her funds.
TEMPLE SCHOOL

9. • Elizabeth opened a bookshop in Boston in 1934.
• Elizabeth and Mary ran a private school upstairs.
• Bookshop was stocked with foreign books and anti-slavery
books, and also sold art supplies.
• Elizabeth's father and brother also sold homeopathic remedies
in the bookstore.
• Peabody closed the bookshop in 1850, and turned her
attention back to education.
ELIZABETH PALMER PEABODY'S
BOOKSHOP

10. • In 1860, Elizabeth learned of the German kindergarten
movement and the writings of its founder, Friedrich Frobel.
Frobel’s main focus was education and young children.
• Mary and Elizabeth both founded the first public kindergarten
in the United States.
• In 1863, Elizabeth and Mary wrote Moral Culture in Infancy and
Kindergarten Guide to explain their new approach on education.
• From 1867-1868, Elizabeth traveled to Europe to study and
better understand Frobel’s method.
• In 1870, Elizabeth set up the first free public kindergarten in
America.
KINDERGARTEN

11. • 1872, Mary and Elizabeth founded the Kindergarten
Association of Boston.
• 1873-1877, Elizabeth became an editor for a journal they
founded called, Kindergarten Messenger.
• 1877, Elizabeth founded the American Frobel Union, and she
served as the first president.
• 1880’s, Elizabeth made contributions to the American Indian
Tribe, where she held lectured tours.
YEARS AFTER SCHOOL

12. Elizabeth Palmer Peabody died January 3,1894 in Boston, MA.
REST IN PEACE

13. • 2 years after Elizabeth died the Elizabeth Peabody House was
established as a memorial in Boston, MA.
• In 1950 it relocated to Somerville, MA where it remains open today.
• Operates a Pre-School Program for children 2.9-6 years of age, and
also an Afterschool Program for 5-13 year old children.
• Current website http://teph.org/
ELIZABETH PEABODY HOUSE

14. Picture Reference
Ancestry. http://records.ancestry.com/Eliza_Palmer_Peabody_records.ashx?pid=147978616. 10 Sept. 2013.
Eventbrite. http://givingtreegala.eventbrite.com/. 10 Sept. 2013.
NWHM. http://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/education/Biographies_Peabody.htm. 10 Sept. 2013.
Town Maps USA. http://townmapsusa.com/d/map-of-billerica-massachusetts-ma/billerica_ma. 10 Sept. 2013
Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Peabody. 10 Sept. 2013.
Information References
“Elizabeth Palmer Peabody.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2013. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.
Lewis, Jone Johnson. “Elizabeth Palmer Peabody.”
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/transcendentalists/a/Elizabeth-Palmer-Peabody.htm. About Guide.
2013. Web. 10 Sept. 2013.
Moriart, Dana. “Elizabeth Palmer Peabody 1804-1894.” http://transcendentalism-legacy.tamu.edu/authors/peabody/.
American Transcendentalism Web. 1999. Web. 10 Sept. 2013
Wilson, Leslie Perrin. “Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, Transcendental Activist.”
http://www.concordma.com/magazine/junjuly99/peabody.html. Concord Magazine. June, July 1999. Web. 10
Sept. 2013.
REFERENCES