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Marjorie Edgar

{{short description|American folklorist}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Marjorie Edgar

| image = MarjorieEdgar1924.png

| alt = A young white woman wearing a dark brimmed hat and a dark suit with a necktie (may be a Girl Scout uniform, from context)

| caption = Marjorie Edgar, from a 1924 publication

| birth_name =

| birth_date = February 17, 1889

| birth_place = Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.

| death_date = April 20, 1960 (age 71)

| death_place = Stillwater, Minnesota, U.S.

| other_names =

| occupation = Girl Scout leader, folklorist

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| spouse(s) =

| relatives =

}}

Marjorie Edgar (February 17, 1889 – April 20, 1960) was an American Girl Scout leader and folklorist, based in Minnesota. She made a significant collection of Finnish folk songs among the immigrant families of rural Minnesota.

Early life and education

Edgar was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of William Crowell Edgar and Anne Page Robinson Edgar.{{Cite news |date=1949-08-17 |title=Mrs. W. C. Edgar Succumbs at 89 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-mrs-w-c-edgar-succumbs-a/142701885/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |work=Star Tribune |pages=24 |via=Newspapers.com}} Her businessman father published a literary weekly, The Bellman, and a trade journal, The Northwestern Miller.{{Cite journal |last=Rahkonen |first=Carl |date=2014-07-01 |title=The Rowan Tree: The Lifework of Marjorie Edgar, Girl Scout Pioneer and Folklorist, With Her Finnish Folk Song Collection "Songs from Metsola." |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.5406/jamerfolk.127.505.0321 |journal=Journal of American Folklore |language=en |volume=127 |issue=505 |pages=321–322 |doi=10.5406/jamerfolk.127.505.0321 |issn=0021-8715}} She attended Rosemary Hall in Connecticut,{{Cite news |date=1917-02-27 |title=Society item |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune/43773865/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |work=Star Tribune |pages=10 |via=Newspapers.com}} and studied folk music with Grace Hodsdon Boutelle, a student of Cecil Sharp's.Joyce E. Hakala, [https://archive.org/details/rowantreelifewor0000haka/page/n1/mode/2up?q=Marjorie+Edgar The Rowan Tree: The Life Work of Marjorie Edgar, Girl Scout Pioneer and Folklorist, with her Finnish Folk Song Collection "Songs from Metsola"] (2007): 9-10.

As a young woman, she was a friend to Helen Taft and her future sister-in-law Martha Bowers, during their visit to Minneapolis in 1912.{{Cite news |date=1912-08-05 |title=Sleuths Guard Taft Children |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-journal-sleuths-guard-ta/142695416/ |access-date=2024-03-04 |work=The Minneapolis Journal |pages=6 |via=Newspapers.com}} Edgar was a bridesmaid when Bowers married Robert A. Taft in 1914.{{Cite news |date=1914-10-29 |title=Washington Society |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-bulletin-washington-societ/142698161/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |pages=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Career

Edgar helped organize the first Girl Scout troop in Minnesota in 1915,{{Cite news |date=1917-03-18 |title=Girl Scouts of Minneapolis and their Leader |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-girl-scouts-of-minneapolis/142697440/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |work=Star Tribune |pages=56 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Cite news |date=1937-03-11 |title=Marjorie Edgar to Speak at Girl Scout Dinner |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-journal-marjorie-edgar-t/142700246/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |work=The Minneapolis Journal |pages=19 |via=Newspapers.com}} and one of the first Girl Scout camps. She was regional director of the Girl Scout councils and troops in Minnesota.Foster, M. D., [https://books.google.com/books?id=RfEBAAAAMAAJ&dq=Marjorie+Edgar&pg=PA121 "The Girl Scouts of Minneapolis"] in Who's Who Among Minnesota Women (1924): 121. She also trained Girl Scout leaders in a program at Carleton College in 1923.{{Cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Elizabeth Kemper |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VxEXAAAAIAAJ&dq=Marjorie+Edgar&pg=PA180 |title=A Five Year Experiment in Training Volunteer Group Leaders, 1922-1927: Conducted by the Girl Scout National Organization. Studies in Girl Scouting Number I |last2=Wood |first2=Eleanor Perry |page=180 |date=1927 |publisher=Girl scouts, Incorporated |language=en}}

During the 1930s, Edgar worked as a writer, researcher, and transcriber for the Minnesota Writers' Project. She served on the board of directors of the Minnesota chapter of the National League of American Pen Women.{{Cite news |last=Taaffe |first=Florence |date=1936-09-27 |title=Professional Women of Varied Careers at Pen Women's League Board Meeting |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-professional-women-of-varie/142700526/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |work=Star Tribune |pages=55 |via=Newspapers.com}} She presented on her work to women's groups,{{Cite news |date=1930-01-27 |title=Old Ballads to be Sung in Costume; Business Women's Club to Hear Miss Marjorie Edgar Tonight |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-star-old-ballads-to-be-s/142696339/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |work=The Minneapolis Star |pages=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |last=Taaffe |first=Agnes |date=1929-11-12 |title=Songs of North Country Sung by Marjorie Edgar Entertain College Club |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-star-songs-of-north-coun/142701591/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |work=The Minneapolis Star |pages=13 |via=Newspapers.com}} scout gatherings,{{Cite news |date=1930-03-25 |title=Sings Folk Songs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sioux-city-journal-sings-folk-songs/142701370/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |work=Sioux City Journal |pages=9 |via=Newspapers.com}} and other audiences, sometimes in costume.{{Cite news |date=1940-04-07 |title=Miss Marjorie Edgar to Address Penwomen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-miss-marjorie-edgar-to-addr/142696027/ |access-date=2024-03-04 |work=Star Tribune |pages=58 |via=Newspapers.com}} In the 1940s she was on the music committee of the Folk Arts Foundation of Minnesota.{{Cite news |last=Krey |first=A. C. |date=1947-04-27 |title=Folk Arts Foundation Collects Minnesota Songs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-folk-arts-foundation-collec/142698703/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |work=Star Tribune |pages=23 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Publications

In addition to two song books for Girl Scout use, Edgar published research in journals including Journal of American Folklore, Minnesota History, and Western Folklore.

  • Songs of Camp Minnesota for Girl Scout Leaders (1925)
  • Old Songs and Balladry for Girl Scouts (1930)
  • "Finnish Charms from Minnesota" (1934){{Cite journal |last=Edgar |first=Marjorie |date=1934 |title=Finnish Charms from Minnesota |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/535695 |journal=The Journal of American Folklore |volume=47 |issue=186 |pages=381–383 |doi=10.2307/535695 |jstor=535695 |issn=0021-8715}}
  • "Finnish Folk Songs in Minnesota" (1935){{Cite journal |last=Edgar |first=Marjorie |date=1935 |title=Finnish Folk Songs in Minnesota |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20162046 |journal=Minnesota History |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=319–321 |jstor=20162046 |issn=0026-5497}}
  • "Finnish Charms and Folk Songs in Minnesota" (1936){{Cite journal |last=Edgar |first=Marjorie |date=1936 |title=Finnish Charms and Folk Songs in Minnesota |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20162133 |journal=Minnesota History |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=406–410 |jstor=20162133 |issn=0026-5497}}
  • "Imaginary Animals of Northern Minnesota" (1940){{Cite journal |last=Edgar |first=Marjorie |date=1940 |title=Imaginary Animals of Northern Minnesota |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20162424 |journal=Minnesota History |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=353–356 |jstor=20162424 |issn=0026-5497}}
  • "Finnish Proverbs in Minnesota" (1943){{Cite journal |last=Edgar |first=Marjorie |date=1943 |title=Finnish Proverbs in Minnesota |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20162615 |journal=Minnesota History |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=226–228 |jstor=20162615 |issn=0026-5497}}
  • "Ballads of the Knife-Men" (1949){{Cite journal |last=Edgar |first=Marjorie |date=1949 |title=Ballads of the Knife-Men |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1497159 |journal=Western Folklore |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=53–57 |doi=10.2307/1497159 |jstor=1497159 |issn=0043-373X}}

Personal life

Edgar lived in Marine on St. Croix, with her mother from 1931 to 1949. She died in 1960, at the age of 71, in Stillwater, Minnesota. The Minnesota Historical Society holds the papers of Edgar and her family.

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • Joyce E. Hakala, [https://archive.org/details/rowantreelifewor0000haka/page/n1/mode/2up?q=Marjorie+Edgar The Rowan Tree: The Life Work of Marjorie Edgar, Girl Scout Pioneer and Folklorist, with her Finnish Folk Song Collection "Songs from Metsola"] (2007), a biography of Edgar

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgar, Marjorie}}

Category:1889 births

Category:1960 deaths

Category:People from Minneapolis

Category:American folklorists

Category:Girl Scouts of the USA people

Category:Choate Rosemary Hall alumni