The Biography of Anna Sataloff
In the year 1910, Rose and Samuel Sataloff left their home country of Russia. The young couple immigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On July 18th, 1915, they welcomed their first child, a baby girl, into the world. The baby was named Nettie Anna Sataloff, but everyone called her Anna. Anna grew to be very clever and witty as a child. As a first grader, she felt like she belonged with the second grade class; after awhile, her teacher acknowledged her precocity and allowed her to skip the first grade. During Anna’s childhood, the Sataloff family changed very much. When Anna was four, her sister Mae was born, followed by her sister Martha a few years later. Shortly after Martha’s birth, Rose, who was only 28, had a serious stroke and passed away. Anna did her best to help care for her younger siblings, but life at home became difficult.
From left to right: Anna, Rose, Mae
At the age of eighteen, Anna left home and went to live in New York City. With her high school diploma, she was able to get a job working in an office. At the time, Anna was living with her good friends, Jean and Leonard Boudin. The Boudins were liberal socialists; Leonard was a recognized ACLU lawyer and during the McCarthy Era, he was well-known as the “defender of the leftists”. As a young adult, Anna was influenced by her friends; she became an activist and she publicly supported various liberal movements. Anna had a big heart and was always wanting to help others. One summer, Anna had the opportunity to work as a caregiver for a troubled little girl named Sonia Horowitz. Sonia was the only daughter of famed pianist Vladimir Horowitz. While helping Sonia work through her emotional problems, Anna realized she loved helping children.
In 1947, Anna was offered a part-time job at Downtown Community School (DCS), which was known for its racial integration and its progressive teaching methods. DCS had opened just three years prior, but it was already gaining the attention of the public. While working at the school, Anna was surrounded by very notable people. Norman Studer, a well-known educator and author, was the headmaster. Peter Seeger, who was a legendary folk singer and activist, worked part time as the music teacher at the school. Rockwell Kent, who had won the Lenin Peace Prize award, sponsored DCS. Lillian Hellman, known for her success as a playwright on Broadway and her left-wing political activism, was on the board of trustees. Many well-known people, including Charles Handley (president of New York teachers union), Josh White (famed black folksinger), and Margaret Mead (American cultural anthropologist) enrolled their children at DCS. Two years before Anna was hired, Eleanor Roosevelt gave free lectures about interracial relations. She, along with other political figures, spoke at events held to gain support for DCS.
While working at the school, Anna became interested in more than educating; she wanted to be a part of the emotional, social and intellectual growth of her students. She started taking childhood development courses at the New School of Social Research and Bank Street College of Education. After one year of working, Anna was promoted to head nursery teacher. Anna’s friends saw how much she loved teaching, and after a while, they managed to convince her to go to college full-time so that she could earn a degree. Anna was accepted into New York University (NYU), where she went to get her bachelor’s in early elementary education. Anna had a difficult time paying for her tuition, so she continued working at DCS, but she still was not making enough. While she was a student, she also worked as a barmaid, a waitress, and even as a model.
In February of 1953, Anna earned her bachelor’s degree, and was hired by DCS for a full-time teaching position. She enjoyed teaching, but she also had great interest in the mental health of her students. Anna decided to go back to NYU to pursue a master’s degree in educational psychology, while she continued to teach at DCS. After leaving NYU, Anna began a friendship one of her prior professors, Leonard Simon. Anna and Leonard ended up dating, and later the two got married.
In 1956, Anna took on a new challenge; motherhood. That year, she gave birth to her first and only child, Jamie. While raising Jamie, she continued to go to school and in February of 1960, Anna received her master’s degree. She soon returned to DCS to work part-time as a school psychologist. As part of Anna’s new job, she administered psychological tests to all of the students. DCS had students whom were enrolled through the eighth grade, so Anna was no longer only dealing with toddlers. If a child seemed to have emotional, social, or academic difficulties, Anna worked to evaluate and diagnose them.
Although she enjoyed working with children, Anna also wanted to help adults. Anna was able to implement a job training program at NYU for young adults with mild intellectual disabilities. In 1964, Anna joined the staff in the Pediatric-Psychiatric division of Lenox Hill Hospital. There, she was heavily involved a program ran by Dr. Katherine Woodward, which focused on people with developmental delays. This work introduced Anna to the field of differential diagnosis. These new experiences helped her to realize the importance of counseling and therapy. By this time, Anna was in her late forties, but despite her age, she decided to take her career in a new direction. Anna hesitantly applied for enrollment into a psychoanalytic program in England, which was held at the Hampstead Child Therapy Clinic. The program, which allowed students to closely analyze children through observation, was developed and taught by Sigmund Freud’s daughter (Anna Freud). Anna did not believe she would get into the program, because it was very small and the staff was known to be selective. Thankfully, she was accepted and in 1969, Anna and Jamie moved into an apartment in London.
When Anna completed the program in England, she moved back to New York City with her son, but shortly after moving back, Anna’s husband passed away unexpectedly. Anna was sad, but she knew that she had to push forward. She began working under a well-known psychoanalyst; without a decorate, Anna took the title of lay-analyst. Anna started working less with children and more with adults, and overtime, she built a very successful practice. As the years passed, Jamie got married and Anna became a grandmother to two sets of twins. In her later years, Anna lived very independently in the middle of Manhattan. She loved her job and actively worked with clients until the age of ninety-three. When she did retire, she continued to provide services to select clients over the phone. In her late nineties, Anna became a great-grandmother to two beautiful babies. In July of 2015, Anna celebrated her 100th birthday. In August, after living a long and exciting life, Anna passed away peacefully.
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Reflection:
My great-great aunt Annie (Anna) passed away in August and I realized how little I knew about her. From the few stories I had heard, I knew that she lived a very long and interesting life. I needed more information to write this short biography, so I spent time speaking with various family members and documenting memories that they had. I also had the opportunity to view my aunt’s resume and transcripts, as well as some of her personal writings. I was determined to prove that during her 100 years, she lived a good life.
I was also inspired to write this after watching a film called Keita: Heritage of the Griot. The film is about a boy named Mabo learning about his family name. At the end of the film I realized that his name was not important, but the history behind his name was. Family history can be inspiring and can often act as part of a person’s identity.
Through writing this, I discovered that I am similar to my aunt in many ways. After graduating high school, at the age of eighteen, we both moved away from our families to live in another state. We both worked and supported ourselves while taking classes. Looking at her transcripts, I can see she was a dedicated student; oddly enough, we have very similar GPAs. We both found interest in psychology and I hope to be as successful as she was. Life was not easy for her, but my aunt accomplished so much and I can see her determination in myself. I respect that she stood up for what she believed in, as I would do the same.
Left to right: Mae, Martha, Anna
Left to right: Mae (91), Anna (95) - year: 2010
