Baroness Maria von Buchau Schroeder 1827 – 1901

Baroness Maria von Buchau was born on March 23, 1827 in Altmark, Prussia. She was the youngest daughter of the Baronet Prinz von Buchau of Prussia. Her father was the General-Adjutant of the great General Blücher, the commander of the victorious Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo during the Napoleonic Wars. Her father was also the last commander of Cassel and one of thirteen men adorned by the King of Prussia as Knight of the Order Pour le Merite, the highest order of Germany. Maria’s ancestry was traceable to Johannes Prince von Buchau, the first Swedish governor in America who also built the first Protestant church in the United States in Princedorph, New Jersey.

Despite her aristocratic background, Maria fell in love with Herman Schroeder, a free thinking proletariat. This was during a time of revolutionary upheaval, when young people of all classes were joining in the attempt to overthrow despotic government in Prussia. Maria shared Herman’s political views, and after struggling to obtain the consent of Maria’s noble father, the two married in 1846 in the small city of Klötze, in the province if Altmark where Maria was born.

Trouble arose in 1848, when Herman became involved in revolutionary activities and joined the League of Revolutionaries. His views against the aristocratic establishment led to his arrest and sentence to be shot. He and Maria managed to escape the night before and headed for New York City aboard a wooden ship with nothing but ten dollars and a needle nose gun Herman had taken from a soldier he had to kill during their flee.

The couple arrived in New York with a small colony of sympathizers. They lived in a loft over a store, using a large box for a table and their trunks for chairs, sleeping on a bed of shavings. According to Maria’s obituary in the Daily Pantagraph, “The first years of their married life were romantic, and as full of unaccustomed conditions as could be fancied by the most imaginative writer of fiction, the aristocratic bride being compelled to work at housework and to do things which she always had been accustomed to have done by servants.” Later in life, when the couple could afford to keep a servant, they still did not hire one because of their strong principles.

It was hard to find work in New York, so the couple moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where Herman studied and practiced medicine for two years. In 1851, Herman, Maria, and their first daughter America, emigrated to Bloomington, IL on a 6-week wagon journey. Upon their arrival, Herman built a home from an old log cabin (reportedly the first log cabin built in town) near where the Illinois Central Railroad would come to be constructed. After his unsuccessful attempt at practicing medicine in Bloomington, he began participating in real estate, which was then known as land speculating. He purchased nine lots in town and built 13 houses, as well as bought 400 acres of land from the Illinois Central Railroad in 1853, calling the area “Schroederville.”

Herman’s real estate affairs were successful, but in 1856, Herman sold Schroederville in order to establish the first vineyards in the west. This business was also a success and he sold over 20,000,000 vines throughout the United States and abroad, making made Bloomington nationally known for grape production. Herman continued to aid in Bloomington’s growth through the building of the first opera house in 1866, the Grand Opera House, and in 1869, building Minerva Block. Herman also initiated coal mining in the land around Bloomington in the 1870s, started a silkworm business, built a steam sausage and meat pressing factory, and established a vinegar and cider factory. Through all his business endeavors, Herman’s nursery remained his central business and was the most prosperous throughout. By the time he built the Minerva Block in Downtown Bloomington, the Schroeders had accumulated a great amount of wealth and prestige.

            Maria and Herman had nine children: America, Heinzer, Franklin, Mazzini, Garibaldi, Prince Eugene, Gambetta, Manny, and Minerva. The names of their children illustrated their political views, for three of their children were named after revolutionary heroes: Mazzini, an Italian who believed in complete freedom and emancipation of mankind; Gambetta, a French patriot who called for separation of church and state, freedom of press and assembly, free compulsory education and the removal of restrictions on labor unions; and Garibaldi, an Italian who was anti-clerical and believed in mild socialism. Sadly, only America, Franklin, and Minerva survived to adulthood.

            Maria had money of her own, which was possibly an inheritance from her family. Thanks to the work of Myra Colby Bradwell, in 1861 a law was passed which entitled married women in Illinois to their own property and earnings, including equal guardianship of children after divorce, the right to share in a deceased husband’s estate and to enter into any occupation or profession. Prior to this law, all of a woman’s property became their husband’s upon marriage. In 1869, Myra Bradwell also lobbied for and got approved an act which gave married women control over earnings from their labor and guaranteed a widow a third of her deceased husband’s estate, regardless of the terms of her husband’s will. Maria took full advantage of her rights, for not only did she have her own money, but she also carried on her own business affairs, owning a store beneath the Schroeder Opera House which her husband built. She also owned a farm and several houses for which she collected rent. Maria was a powerful woman and was said to have controlled her husband with quiet firmness. She never quite trusted his business judgment. It was also said that Herman sometimes sought her advice in matters of business.

In March 1887, Maria shocked Bloomington residents when she filed for separate maintenance from her husband. According to a Daily Pantagraph article, Maria said that her husband “has made life miserable for her…a continual course of unkind and harsh treatment has been practiced toward her by her husband, and life with him is unendurable.” She claimed that Herman had not been providing her with enough food because of his “penurious instincts.” She asked the court to order him to pay her a proper sum for support, since she confirmed that he was worth $75,000. During this time of separation, Herman built a home in the middle of his vineyards and named it “Villa Maria,” after his wife. It was located north of Oakland Avenue and was described as “a rambling, frame, one-story affair with six bedrooms…a perfect bower of floral beauty in the summer months.” Maria, however, did not reside there. She continued to reside in their apartment on the Minerva Block.

Fortunately for Maria, she and Herman were together when the Great Fire broke out in Downtown Bloomington on June 19, 1900. Herman “escaped carrying his sick wife, still in her nightgown, over his shoulder, down the stairs and into the alley. He, in his [late 70’s], was dressed in torn slippers, an old jacket, straw hat and cane.” The Fire destroyed much of Minerva Block and consequently, the Schroeder’s home. It destroyed their valuable possessions, such as heirlooms over 400 years old, statuettes, portraits, their library, and many other priceless articles. The shock and worry from the Fire left Maria ill with heart disease, so she decided to live at St. Joseph’s Hospital for the remainder of her life. Herman visited her everyday, bringing her fruit and flowers. If he did not come, Maria would send for a carriage to go see if her husband was ill. Maria spent the last six months of her life at the hospital before finally passing away on November 27, 1901.

Maria’s funeral was held at the Unitarian church, even though the Schroeders were free thinkers and did not believe in organized religion. She was buried in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery.