Dreier, Mary Elisabeth (1875–1963)
Dreier, Mary Elisabeth (1875–1963)
American labor and women's rights activist. Name variations: frequently misspelled as Drier. Pronunciation: DRY-er. Born Sept 26, 1875, in Brooklyn, New York; died in Bar Harbor, Maine, Aug 15, 1963; dau. of Dorothea Adelheid Dreier and her cousin Theodor Dreier (iron merchant); sister of Margaret Dreier Robins and Katherine Sophie Dreier; lived with Frances Kellor for 45 years; never married; no children.
Did settlement house work at Asacog House, Brooklyn (late 1890s); was a member of the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL, 1904–50), president of the New York WTUL (1906–14); was a member of the NY State Factory Investigating Commission (1911–15); served as delegate-at-large, Progressive Party convention (1912); served as chair of the NYC's Woman Suffrage Party (1916); served as chair of NY State Committee on Women in Industry, Advisory Commission, Council of National Defense (1918–19); was a long-time member of the Industrial Department and National Board, Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA); was an anti-nuclear activist (1950s).
See also Margaret Dreier Robins: Her Life, Letters and Work (1950); and Women in World History.