Grace Durand

Grace Garrett Durand (August 25, 1867 – February 26, 1948), was the spouse of the founder of the S.S. Durand sugar brokerage in Chicago, Illinois, Scott Sloan Durand (1869–1949),^[1] an was, in her own right, an owner, manager, and promoter of an American dairy,^[1] a temperance activist, and a clubwoman.^{[clarification needed]}

Grace Garrett Durand, from a 1914 publication.

Early life and education

Grace Denise Garrett was born in Burlington, Iowa, the daughter of William Garrett and Martha Rorer Garrett.^{[2][better source needed]} She went to school at St. Mary's in Knoxville, Illinois.^[3]

Career

In 1904 Grace Durand began running a model dairy in Lake Forest, Illinois, to sell good quality local milk to Chicagoans,^[4] and to support her other projects, such as a kindergarten for children in Chicago's tenements.^[5] Separately, Chicago railroad executive and federal judge Henry W. Blodgett owned and managed a 370-acre dairy farm, Crab Tree Farm, a property on Lake Michigan north of the Chicago suburb of Lake Bluff, Illinois (itself north of Lake Forest, Illinois).^[1] Scott Sloan Durand (1869–1949), spouse of Grace Garrett Durand and founder of the Chicago sugar brokerage S. S. Durand and Co., purchased a substantial part of the Blodgett farm (250 acres) in 1905.^[1] Mrs. Durand relocated her dairy operation to the Lake Bluff location in 1906.^{[citation needed][verification needed]}

Mrs. Durand explained,^[when?] "I have not entirely given up society for my dairy... but the work is so interesting that I cannot look upon the time and effort given to it as any sacrifice."^[6] Several of the buildings on the farm were lost by fire in 1910; she subsequently commissioned Pullman Village designer and Chicago architect Solon Spencer Beman,^[7] and they redesigned and rebuilt the farm.^{[1][verification needed]} In 1915, her herd of Guernsey cows was destroyed by government officials because they were suspected of carrying foot and mouth disease.^[8][9] She sued for $100,000 in damages.^{[10][full citation needed]} She lectured at farmers' institutes across the American midwest on her methods and experiences in dairy work, and patented a design for milk jugs.^[11]

Grace Durand was the first woman elected to serve on the board of education in Lake Forest, Illinois.^{[2][better source needed]} She was a member of the Lake Forest Golf Club,^[12] 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.^{[13][14][needs update]}

Personal life

Grace Garrett Durand was married to a Chicago millionaire,^[15] sugar broker Scott Sloan Durand, in 1894.^{[citation needed]} Crab Tree Farm, the site of her dairy, and their home outside of Chicago,^[1] as of this date,^[when?] remains a working farm near Lake Bluff.^{[citation needed]}

The Durands traveled extensively, around the world.^{[citation needed]} Mrs. Durand donated woven and embroidered shawls from India to the Art Institute of Chicago.,^[16][17] Their travels included a visit to Tristan da Cunha in 1935.^{[relevant?][18]}

The Durands adopted two children;^{[2][better source needed]} their son Jackson G. "Jack" Durand was convicted of robbing the home of F. Edson White in 1926, and served a prison sentence.^[19][20]

Mrs. Durand died in 1948, at the age of 80 years.^{[citation needed]} Mr. Durand dies in