Elizabeth Laws
Elizabeth S. Laws | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 20, 1888 St. Louis, Missouri |
| Died | June 24, 1978 Yakima Indian Reservation, Wapato, Washington |
| Spouse(s) | Walter Ware Frederick Laws |
| Children | John Walter Ware, James Albert Ware, Imogene Frances Ware, Lewis Adams Ware |
Elizabeth S. Laws (September 20, 1888 - June 24, 1978) was an American Bahá'í who was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for pioneering to Basutoland.
Life[edit]
Elizabeth was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1888 but her family moved to Spokane when she was young. When she was thirteen her mother passed and she was sent to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to live with her grandparents. Her grandfather was a Christian minister and was strict during her upbringing. She completed a teaching certificate after finishing school and began teaching at a one room school in Indiana.
She met Walter Ware in Indiana and married him in 1910. They had four children between 1912 and 1921 and in 1923 they moved to Seattle where Elizabeth became active in the Presbyterian church. She and Walter eventually divorced and Elizabeth remained with the children in Seattle. In the 1930's she began attending an Esperanto Class taught first by Lauren Jackson and then by Frederick Laws, both Bahá'ís. She declared in 1937 and remarried to Frederick in 1939.[1] They planned to pioneer to Chile in 1940,[2] but were ultimately unable to do so and instead moved to San Diego and helped strengthen the Local Spiritual Assembly. They returned to Washington in 1945, and in 1947 pioneered to Corvallis, Oregon, to assist in forming an Assembly at the request of their Regional Teaching Committee.[3] In January 1953 the Laws pioneered to Africa to fulfill the request of Shoghi Effendi for pioneers.
They settled in Nairobi, Kenya, but in May, 1953, left Kenya for Basutoland to open the region to the Faith. They arrived in Basutoland in October and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, with their names being included in a cablegram from Shoghi Effendi to the Intercontinental Teaching Conference held in New Delhi. They were adopted by the Crocodyle Clan making them honorary Basuto while living there, and Elizabeth was given a Basuto name which translated to 'Mother of Love'. The Laws had to leave for Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1956 as Frederick was unable to secure permission to work in the area. They stayed with William Sears while in South Africa.
On the advice of Shoghi Effendi and after consultation with Músá Banání and Paul Haney the Laws briefly moved to Gambia, then Liberia, before returning to the United States at the close of 1957. In August 1958 Elizabeth briefly returned to Liberia without Frederick and taught at a school, but returned to America after finding herself incomplete without him. In 1964 she and Frederick lived on Omaha Indian Reservation in Nebraska for a time to teach the Faith. In 1966 they presented slides showing their experiences in Basutoland at the Benton County Fair in Oregon.[4] In 1969 they spoke at the Northwest Bahá'í Summer School.[5]
When Frederick retired from his job as an engineer in 1976 Elizabeth and he moved to Tanzania, but they were unable to secure permanent visas and departed Tanzania after only eight months, although they were able to contribute financially to the construction of Bahá'í Centers for the country while there. In 1977 they moved to the Yakima Indian Reservation in Washington and Elizabeth passed away there on June 24, 1978.
The Universal House of Justice cabled the following after her passing:
INFORM FREDERICK LAWS WAPATO WASHINGTON GRIEVED NEWS PASSING KNIGHT BAHAULLAH DEAR BETH WHOSE PIONEERING TEACHING SERVICES LOVINGLY REMEMBERED ASSURE HIM FERVENT PRAYERS PROGRESS HER SOUL[6]
References[edit]
- "Elizabeth S. Laws, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh 1888-1977". The Bahá’í World, 1976-1979. Vol. 17. Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre. 1981. pp. 459–460. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
Notes[edit]
- ↑ *"Frederick Laws, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh 1913-1987". The Bahá’í World, 1986-1992. Vol. 20. pp. 892–894.
- ↑ Mathews, Loulie A. (March 1940). "Inter-America News". Baha'i News. No. 134. United States: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ↑ "Photo caption". Baha'i News. No. 201. United States: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. November 1947. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ↑ "Photo caption". Baha'i News. No. 428. United States: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. November 1966. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ↑ "The Northwest Bahá'í Summer School". Baha'i News. No. 464. United States: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. November 1969. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ↑ "Elizabeth S. Laws, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh 1888-1977". The Bahá’í World, 1976-1979. Vol. 17. Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre. 1981. p. 460. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
