Grace Garrett Durand (August 25, 1867 – February 26, 1948) was an American clubwoman, business owner, and temperance activist.
Early life
editGrace Denise Garrett was born in Burlington, Iowa, the daughter of William Garrett and Martha Rorer Garrett.[1] She went to school at St. Mary's in Knoxville, Illinois.[2]
Career
editIn 1904 Grace Durand began running a model dairy, Crab Tree Farm, in Lake Forest, Illinois, to sell good quality local milk to Chicagoans,[3] and to support her other projects, such as a kindergarten for children in Chicago's tenements.[4] The farm was relocated to Lake Bluff, Illinois in 1906. "I have not entirely given up society for my dairy," Durand explained, "but the work is so interesting that I cannot look upon the time and effort given to it as any sacrifice."[5] Several of the buildings on the farm were lost by fire in 1910. She rebuilt the barns with help from architect Solon Spencer Beman.[6] In 1915, her herd of Guernsey cows was destroyed by government officials because they were suspected of carrying foot and mouth disease.[7][8] She sued for $100,000 in damages.[9] She lectured at farmers' institutes across the American midwest on her methods and experiences in dairy work, and patented a design for milk jugs.[10]
Grace Durand was the first woman elected to serve on the board of education in Lake Forest, Illinois.[1] She was a member of the Lake Forest Golf Club,[11] and president of the Lake Bluff chapter of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. She wrote a book, Consider, opposing the repeal of Prohibition. Her temperance work was much remarked upon when her husband was accused of participating in a "rum ring" and indicted in 1933.[12][13]
Personal life
editGrace Garrett married wealthy sugar broker[14] Scott Sloan Durand in 1894. They adopted two children.[1] Their son Jackson G. "Jack" Durand was convicted of robbing the home of F. Edson White in 1926, and served a prison sentence.[15][16] The Durands traveled around the world, even visiting Tristan da Cunha in 1935.[17] Grace died in 1948, aged 80 years.
She donated woven and embroidered shawls from India to the Art Institute of Chicago.[18][19]
Crab Tree Farm remains a working farm near Lake Bluff today.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c John William Leonard, ed., Woman's Who's Who of America (American Commonwealth Publishing 1914): 263.
- ^ C. Chamberlain Tracey, A History of Lake County, Illinois (R. S. Bates 1912): 501.
- ^ "A Model Dairy Farm" New Castle Herald (July 13, 1908): 6. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Kate V. Saint Maur, "Mrs. Scott Durand – Milk Woman" Pearson's Magazine 24(November 1910): 634.
- ^ Michael H. Ebner, Creating Chicago's North Shore: A Suburban History (University of Chicago Press 1988): 202-203. ISBN 9780226182056
- ^ a b History of Crab Tree Farm Archived 2012-02-18 at the Wayback Machine, Crab Tree Farm website.
- ^ Alan L. Olmstead, Arresting Contagion: Science, Policy, and Conflicts over Animal Disease Control (Harvard University Press 2015): 126. ISBN 9780674967229
- ^ "The Gentlewoman Farmer and Her Fight to Save her $30,000 Herd" Washington Herald (November 28, 1915): 33. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Mrs. Durand Asks $100,000" New York Times (November 21, 1915).
- ^ Sarah Comstock, "Mrs. Durand: A Twentieth Century Product" Harper's Weekly (May 9, 1914): 28-30.
- ^ Kim Coventry, Daniel Meyer, Arthur H. Miller, Classic Country Estates of Lake Forest (W. W. Norton & Company 2003): 67. ISBN 9780393730999
- ^ "Scott Durand Named in Rum Ring Indictment" Chicago Daily Tribune (February 17, 1933): 4.
- ^ "Wealthy Broker, Mate of Rum Foe, Indicted by U. S." Decatur Daily Review (February 17, 1933): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Mrs. Durand to Start Dairy" Omaha Daily Bee (June 18, 1915): 32. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Durand Appeal Denied" Belvidere Daily Republican (June 16, 1926): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Considering Parole of Jack Durand" Freeport Journal Standard (May 3, 1928): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Travelers Will Bring Tales of Strange Lands" Chicago Tribune (March 27, 1935): 12.
- ^ Long Shawl, Art Institute of Chicago.
- ^ Long Shawl, Art Institute of Chicago.