Maude Drew – A Scholar and Professor's Wife

Maude Mildred Drew was the youngest and only daughter of Thomas Drew and Margaret Walch. She was born in April 1882 in Caldwell Kansas. Both the 1900 and 1910 US censuses show Maude living with her parents on Webb Street in Caldwell. In 1910, the 27-year-old Maude was teaching piano, most likely out of her parents’ home. She may have already obtained a bachelor’s degree by that time. She also may have graduated from Central Wesleyan College in Warrenton, Missouri, where her future husband obtained his bachelor's degree. In any case, she is the first woman in the Walch family to earn a college degree.

At the age of 32, Maude married George Henry Von Tungeln, 33, a Harvard PhD graduate and recently hired assistant professor of sociology at Iowa State College. Following the marriage they moved to Ames, Iowa, where they resided until 1944.

Dr. George von Tungeln was an early pioneer of rural sociology, and served as Chair of the Rural Sociology Section of the American Sociological Society. By 1932, Dr. Von Tungeln was Head of the sociology section of the Department of Economics and Sociology at Iowa State College, and had gained national prominence for his work. Maude also furthered her study at Ames and in 1929 became the 12th recipient of an MS degree in Sociology at Iowa State University.

George died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1944 at 61 years of age as he was completing his thirty-first year as a member of the Iowa State College faculty. In 1969, Maude established an Iowa State University scholarship in honor of her husband, which is now called The George Henry and Maude Drew Von Tungeln Scholarship. Maude died in 1973 in Santa Barbara California at 91 years of age. It is believed that Maude and George had no children because there were no children listed in census reports.

The photograph above is Maude Drew with her mother, Margaret Walch

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A few years ago I found the following posted on the Internet: “I have recently come upon a family history written, and passed on by, Maude Drew von Tungeln. If anybody has a contact for her, or a relative who may know of her, please email me.” The posting was written by Nathan Drew Allen, 34, a descendent of Gladys (Drew) Allen. Unfortunately, Nathan's e-mail address is no longer valid, and all attempts to contact him or his parents have failed. If anyone knows his whereabouts and contact information, please let me know. I very much would like to incorporate Maude’s family history into the Walch history.