The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Robinson, Theresa Albertine Louise von Jakob

ROBINSON, Theresa Albertine Louise von Jakob, German-American author: b. Halle, Prussia, 26 Jan. 1797; d. Hamburg, 13 April 1870. She was the second wife of Edward Robinson (q.v.), and was known in Germany as an author under the name of “Talvj” (formed from her initials). While residing at Kharkoff she began to study Slavonian, and wrote her first poems. In 1824 she published a few tales in a volume bearing the title ‘Psyche.’ She also published, in 1825-26, translations of a number of Serbian popular songs entitled ‘Volkslieder des Serben.’ In America she began the study of aboriginal languages and translated into German Pickering's work on the Indian tongues. In 1834 she wrote a ‘Historical Review of the Slavic Languages’ for the ‘Biblical Repository,’ republished in enlarged form in 1850. During her husband's visit to Palestine she resided in Germany, where she published, in 1840, ‘Charakteristik der Volkslieder germanischer Nationen mit einer Uebersicht der Lieder aussereuropäischer Völkerschaften.’ ‘Die Colonisation von Neu-England’ was published at Leipzig in 1847; a defective translation by W. Hazlitt, Jr., appeared in London in 1851. She also wrote numerous tales, and contributed to magazines, both German and English. ‘Heloise,’ ‘Life's Discipline’ and ‘The Exiles’ were German tales translated into English by her daughter (1850-53). ‘Fifteen Years: A Picture of the Last Century’ appeared in 1870, and ‘Gesammelte Novellen’ in 1874.