Born: 8 March 1877, Lithuania
Died: 24 July 1930
Country most active: Lithuania
Also known as: Šatrijos Ragana
The following is excerpted from “400 Outstanding Women of the World and the Costumology of Their Time” by Minna Moscherosch Schmidt, published in 1933.
“Šatrijos Ragana” — The Witch of the Brushwood. Marija Peckauskas was born in Lithuania at Medingenai in 1878. Her father was a White Russian, but was a landlord in Lithuania; her mother was a Lithuanian lady of the nobility. Although they spoke the Polish language in their home, as most of the nobility did, their sympathies were not with the Poles and they preferred to mingle with the Lithuanian peasants. Consequently, little Marija became well acquainted with the commonfolk and forever loved them. She enjoyed listening to their Lithuanian songs, which she would immediately write. Later, she herself tried to improvise little songs, poems and dramas, hoping to be a writer some day. In 1885 she began studying with a local teacher and when but fourteen years of age, she entered Class III in St. Catherine’s Gymnasium (high school) in Petrograd, where she proved herself to be a very capable student. The year 1887 was an important one to Marija for then her father rented an estate in Uzventys, and in this vicinity Marija met Povilas Visinskis who greatly influenced the future authoress by rousing the patriotic and nationalistic feeling in Marija. But there was also another interest in Marija’s mind: she entered a school in Warsaw in 1896 to take a course in bee keeping. Completing this, she returned home to start bee keeping and farming on a large scale. But not for long, as her father died in 1897. Accordingly, Marija and her mother liquidated their farm possessions and moved to the city of Siauliai, where one of Marija’s brothers was attending school and the other brother was preparing to enter. Here, the mother did housework and Marija became a private teacher until 1904. The following year, 1905, through the recommendations of friends, Marija was awarded a scholarship by the Catholic society, “Motinele” (Little Mother) to study in Switzerland at the universities of Zurich and Fribourg. She specialized in literature and education, and cultivated her talent as a writer. She was then invited by the Lithuanian society “Ziburis” (Light) to conduct a school for young girls in the city of Mariampole, which position she held until the World War. At the outbreak of the war, most of the schools were moved eastward to the city of Trakai and thence to Russia. But, Marija did not go to Russia; instead, she dared to cross the German border, then up to Riga, Latvia, and finally through Mintauja back again to Lithuania, to Zidikai.
Miss Peckauskas, or “Satrijos Ragana” is best known for her child education books. Some of her books are: To the Light through Tears, Vincent Stonis which was published in 1906 at Vilnius, Stories of Early Lithuanian History and Mother the Educator. Other compositions of Miss Peckauskas include such pieces of Lithuanian literature as Vihtute (Little Victoria) which was written as early as 1900, Panciai (Shackles), Sename Duare ( On an Old Estate) and Melynoji Mergele (The Blue Maiden), Marija Peckauskas or ‘‘Satrijos Ragana” was awarded an honorary Doctor’s degree by the Theology-Philosophy Faculty of the University of Kaunas, Lithuanigi. She died in 1930.