The morning call., 1893-05-28
Altogether,
She vas the
SARAH B. COOPER.

SARAH B. COOPER.
A KISDERGARTSER WHO HAS RECEIVED
THE HIGHEST PRAISE FROM EMILY
FAITHFUL AND OTHERS.
A celebrated English writer has said: "If
one woman alone is enough o redeem a ~hole
nation. th II woman Is Mrs. Cooper"
1t was Emily Faithful who penned these
words, and she did so deliberately. from AN ln-
innate acquaintance with the subject OF her
sketch and with her work.
There are few people on the Pacific Coast
who are moi familiar with the name of Sarah B.
Coouer, ana those who now her best would be
the most likely to declare that no measure OF
praise suen as Emily Faithful accOrds could
possibly give any adequate idea OF her life's
work.
That work Is written in better and clearer
characters in the lives of the children whose In
fancy she has shielded from The surroundings
OF the street. In the hearts of the men Ind
women whom she has cheered and strength
ened in her Bibie-class.
Sarah B. COOper was born In Cazenovia,
New York. From childhood her life was
busy one. a mOiberless girl, with younger
sisters she had taken responsibilities b. fore en-
iering her teens. these responsibilities de-
yeloped her childish character and made her
grave and thoughtful beyond her years. She
was published. and ever since that time she has
b-en more or less engaged IN literature.
At the age OF II she taught district school
in q village adjoining her home. There were
no religious services held in the place and the
enthusiastic ebild-teaeher started Blble-ciass,
which aroused the interest. moi ouly OF the
children, but Of their parents.
This was the beginning of her wonderful sue
cess in expounding 1.-The gospel of love-" No
MN buS affsp dad laSl
in San Fra ucisco can wonder at the fact that
even as a child she was successful in kindllng
the interests ana sympathIes OF her listeners.
After teaching school for some time she
graduated from the Cazenovia Seminary ana
proceeded 10 the Troy Female Seminary under
Miss Willard TO complete her education in mu-
sic and modern langu ages The next event ln
her life was migra ion TO Augusta. Ga.
where she went as gOverness In one OF tie
leading families OF the State.
Her marriage 10 Hasley Fennimore Cooper
occurred some years later In 1859 she aud
her husband made their permanent home in
San Francisco, and not long afterward Mrs.
Cooper initiated her now famous BlbIe.elass.
The first class began with only seven candidates,
but before many months had passed several
hundreds we've attending.
About this time Mrs. Cooper first became
interested in kindergartens, a subject with
was she VINO organized the second free kinder
garten wesT of the Rocky Mountains, and her
Bible-elass supported the garden
The Golden Gats kindergarten Association
of which Mrs. Cooper was president, had a
great and a we'll merited success. Much was
done to rouse popular interest by Mrs. Cooper's
articles for the press. She urged the impor-
tance of prevention rather than OF cure, and
said that money is better spent in preventing
in
them Industry and honesty, than 1n erecting
prisons and reformatores.
No more conclusive proof could be offered
OF the soundness OF her reasoning than the
fact that OF tile 1900 children at various
times trained in the San Francisco kinder
gartens only one has ever been known TO be
under arres for breaking the laws. II must
be remembered, too. that the gardens are.
many of them. situated in the districts where
criminals are made.
The Golden Gate Kindergarten Association
has now thrty-six free kindergartens. with an
auBual enrolment OF over 5000 children.
More than $4,000 children have at various
times been under training in these Institutions.
The total sum given al various times TO MIR.
CooPer 10 carry on the work now amounts to
100000. Eighteen OF these kindergarttns
are permanently endowed. There are fifteen
memorial kindergartens The board which CO.
operates with Mrs. Cooper consists of emf
nently representative women, many OF them
millOnairesses-
Seven OF The kindergartens are supporte ed by
Mrs. Leland Stanford, three by Mrs. George
Hearst, four BY The Helping Hand Society. TWO
by Mrs. Charles Lux, and Mrs. Cyrus Walker.
Mrs. Pope. Mrs. Norris and Mrs. Hart each
maintain one.
Miss Harriet Cooper, who is said TO have in
herited many of her mothers energetic traits,
is superintendent Of the great work. Some
idea Of the gastness of her labors may be
gathered from the faei that last year 10000
letters OF inquiry were answered, while So, 900
reports were dispatched by mail. Her services
are given per amore. She has never received
any salary and her only recompense has been
the success OF her undertaking.
Mrs. Cooper's kindergarten and her Bible
class work are by no means all that she has
undertaken. She was partly instrumental in
organizing the Associated Charities of San
francisco, also the Woman's Press Club and
the Century Club OF this city, and she still
takes an active part in all these organizations
At The last meeting of the National Educa-
ttonal Association at Saratoga \. y. MIS-.
Cooper was elected president of the Interna-
tional kindergarten Union, which allies all the