Struven Family
About 100 years ago, during World War I, the first Bahá'í family in Worcester, the Struvens (Howard C. and Hebe Struven and their son Howard Douglas) moved from Baltimore, Maryland to Worcester, Massachusetts.
Douglas Struven
H. Douglas Struven
About Howard Douglas
The first Bahá'í child in Worcester, Howard Douglas was born in Baltimore, MD on December 8, 1913. His parents and he moved to Worcester when he was about 2 years old, and lived there until at least mid 1930's. The 1930 census (3) still lists him single (16 years old) and living with his parents in 166 Heard St. As a youth he worked during the summers at Green Acre and served on the Youth Committee (10)
History of the Faith in Worcester
Many Baha'is have lived in our cluster throughout the years. Some of them have had international, national, regional or local impact in the development of the faith. Remarkable people like Florence Morton, the Struven Family, and Amelia Collins have honored our cluster at some time in their lives.
Ruby J. Struven
Ruby (Hebe) Struven (1882—1973)
Ruby Jean Struven (née Moore) was born in the town of Hume, NY on November 4, 1882. She was the ninth out of ten children of Reuben Moore (born circa 1817) and Ellen McBride Moore (born circa 1842), both from New York State and she was also the younger sister of Lua (Louise) Getsinger (née Moore) . Hebe, as she was commonly called, came from a Baptist tradition and accepted the Baha'i Faith around 1896-98 in Hume, NY. Her belief in Bahá'u'lláh probably occurred through the influence of her older sister Lua (1,2).
