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A Guide to the Margaret Dreier Robins Collection

Finding aid prepared by Carl Van Ness

University of Florida Smathers Libraries - Special and Area Studies Collections
August 2005


Descriptive Summary

Provenance: Robins, Margaret Dreier
Title: Margaret Dreier Robins Collection
Dates: 1876-1950
Bulk dates: 1905-1945
Abstract: Women's Trade Union League, social work, suffrage, anti-war, personal papers, photos, correspondence, and biographical material on Robins family members.
Extent: 40 linear feet. (97 Boxes)
Identification: Ms Group 15


Biographical/Historical Note

Women's rights leader and social activist. Margaret Dreier Robins was born in 1868 in Brooklyn, New York. She left New York in 1925 and moved to Florida with her husband Raymond Robins. The Robins' resided at a large estate called Chinsegut Hill near the town of Brooksville. Margaret was a founder and leader of the National Women's Trade Union League and an outspoken crusader for equal rights for women in the workplace. She and her husband were also active in politics and campaigned for candidates in both major parties as well as the National Progressive Party. She died in 1945.


Scope and Content

The collection contains records related to the life of Margaret Dreier Robins. Her involvement with the women's movement and trade unions is extensively documented. Additionally, the collection contains documents and correspondence regarding such specific topics as: prohibition, China, Florida, public health, social welfare, religious groups, the 'Peace Movement', political parties and campaigns, and women's suffrage. The collection also contains biographical material related to both her and her husband as well as correspondence between the two and records related to the Chinsegut Hill estate. Raymond Robins' life is also documented through several scrapbooks and photo albums and many of the clippings and publications reflect his activities as well as those of his wife. There are also records of Raymond Robins' father, Charles E. Robins.

Addendum: Correspondence to Lilly Brummerhoff, a resident of Chinsegut Hill who was employed by the Robins family, was added in August 2005. It includes letters from both Raymond Robins and Margaret Dreier Robbins. In 2007, letters from Margaret Dreier Robins and Raymond Robins to Mary Dreier and Katherine Dreier, sisters of Margaret, were added. The correspondence in the addendum was not microfilmed and is not indexed in the register.

The collection is divided into nine series: (1) Biographical and personal records, (2) Organizational and topical materials, and (3) Correspondence, (4) Publications, (5) Photographs, (6) Albums, (7) Clippings, (8) Scrapbooks, and (9) Miscellany.


Access or Use Restrictions

Access

Collection is open for research.


Related or Separated Material

The remainder of Raymond Robins papers are located at the Wisconsin Historical Society and at New York University.

Additional materials related to Chinsegut Hill can be found in the Lisa von Borowsky papers, University of Florida.


Administrative Information

Alternative Form of Material

Series 1-3 are included in the microfilm edition entitled Papers of the Women's Trade Union League and Its Principal Leaders.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Margaret Dreier Robins Collection, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Acquisition Information

The collection was gifted to the University of Florida after the death of Raymond Robins in 1954.


Finding Aid Note

A typewritten register for the Dreier correspondence is available in the Special Collections Research Room. The register is organized alphabetically by the correspondents' names.


Contents List

Biographical and Personal Records

This series contains personal effects and memorabilia, family documents, and biographical information. The series also contains speeches of both Margaret and Raymond Robins. Much of the series is taken up with the operations and social activities of Chinsegut Hill as well as a coastal property named Bimini's Isle also owned by the Robins. (Bimini was Margaret's nickname.) The series contains a survey map of Chinsegut Hill.

Box 1

Drier family: Margaret Dreier Robins.
Drier family: General Biographical Material.
Drier family: Miscellaneous Personal Items.
Drier family: Memberships and Contributions.

Box 2

Margaret Dreier Robins: Autograph Books.
Margaret Dreier Robins: Retirement Letters.
Margaret Dreier Robins: Silver Wedding Anniversary.
Margaret Dreier Robins: Programs of Speaking Engagements.

Box 3

Margaret Dreier Robins speeches: Fragments.
Margaret Dreier Robins speeches: Notes.
Margaret Dreier Robins speeches: Addresses and Lists of Names.

Box 4

Margaret Dreier Robins: Investments and Business Records

Box 5

Margaret Dreier Robins's Death: Letters of Sympathy.
Margaret Dreier Robins's Death: Memorial Services

Box 6

Mary Dreier Biography of Margaret Dreier Robins.

Box 7

Robins Family: Raymond Robins.
Robins Family: General Material.
Material on Particular Aspects of her career.
Speaking Engagements.

Box 8

Raymond Robins: Speeches and Writings.
Raymond Robins: Business Records.
Raymond Robins: Miscellaneous.

Box 9

Chinsegut Hill: General Material.
Chinsegut Hill: Correspondence, 1906-1929.

Box 10

Chinsegut Hill: Correspondence, 1930-1931.
Chinsegut Hill: Records and Accounts.

Box 11

Guests and Social Occasions: Invitations and Acknowledgements.
Robins Entertainments.
Guest Books

Box 12

Guest Books (cont.).
Verses for Family Occasions.
Verses for Chinsegut Hill.
Biographical Material on Other Persons.
Writings by Others



Organizational and Topical Materials

This series contains reports, newsletters, memoranda, minutes and other records related to the organizations and causes that Margaret Dreier Robins was active in. The series contains very little correspondence.

Box 13

Woman's Municipal League and Related Groups.

Box 14

NWTUL, 1924-1928.

Box 15

NWTUL, 1929-1935.

Box 16

NWTUL, and Miscellaneous. 1936-1950, undated.

Box 17

WTUL: Local Activities.

Box 18

International Federation of Working Women (1919-1925).
Industrial Committee, Illinois Federation of Women's Clubs, (1906-1908).
American Federation of Labor (1909).
Chicago and Illinois Federations of Labor (1907-1914).
Council of National Defense, World War I.
YWCA War Work Council.
Other Wartime Labor Matters.

Box 19

Committee on Women in Industry, League of Women.
Voters (1919-1925).
Women's Bureau, US Department of Labor (1918-1938).
Mary Macarthur Memorial Committee (1921-1923).
YWCA Industrial Department (1919-1926, 1940).
White House Conference on Child Health and Protection (1929-1930).
Southern Organizations and Conferences (1927-1941).
Unemployment (1930-1933)
Child Labor Amendment (1933-1938).

Box 20

Labor Legislation
Labor and Social Welfare Groups and Interests: Miscellaneous

Box 21

Woman Suffrage.
Political Parties and Campaigns.
Peace Movement.

Box 22

Prohibition.
Religious Groups.
Committee on Public Relations, Motion Picture.
Producers and Distributors of America. 1922-1924
International Women's Conferences.
China.
Florida Groups and Activities: Social Welfare, Public
Health, Observation.

Box 23

Florida Groups and Activities: Miscellaneous.
Miscellaneous (National).



Correspondence

This series is arranged chronologically and consists of letters received by Margaret Dreier Robins. It also includes some 19th century Dreier family correspondence in German and third party correspondence of Margaret's family including her sisters, Mary and Dorothea. Letters between Margaret and Raymond are filed separately within the series. The series also contains two boxes of letters written to Raymond Robins by people other than Margaret. It is unclear why these letters, some written after Margaret's death, were not transferred to Wisconsin with the remainder of the Raymond Robins papers.

Box 24

Dreier Family Correspondence, 1885-1889.

Box 25

Dreier Family Correspondence, 1890-1893; Margaret Dreier Robins Correspondence, 1876-1905.

Box 26

January 1906-December 1908.

Box 27

January 1909-December 1910.

Box 28

January 1911-April 1913.

Box 29

May 1913-December 1915.

Box 30

January 1916-December 1917.

Box 31

January 1918-April 1920.

Box 32

May 1920-October 1921.

Box 33

November 1921-May 1923.

Box 34

June 1923-February 1924.

Box 35

March 1924-June 1925.

Box 36

July 1925-February 1927.

Box 37

March 1927-April 1928.

Box 38

May 1928-May 1929.

Box 39

June 1929-March 1930.

Box 40

April-December 1930.

Box 41

January-July 1931.

Box 42

August 1931-February 1932.

Box 43

March-September 1932.

Box 44

October 1932-February 1933.

Box 45

March-December 1933.

Box 46

January-December 1934.

Box 47

January-October 1935.

Box 48

November 1935-April 1936.

Box 49

May 1936-February 1937.

Box 50

March 1937-August 1938.

Box 51

September 1938-December 1939.

Box 52

January-December 1940.

Box 53

January 1941-May 1942.

Box 54

June 1942-September 1943.

Box 55

October 1943-June 1945.

Box 56

Undated correspondence: (A-F).

Box 57

Undated correspondence: (G-P).

Box 58

Undated correspondence: (R-Z), Unidentified, and Miscellaneous.

Box 59

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. April 1905-September 1911

Box 60

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. October 1911-March 1915

Box 61

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. April 1915-August 1916

Box 62

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. September 1916-April 1920

Box 63

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. 1920-August 1922

Box 64

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. September 1922-March 1923

Box 65

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. April 1923-April 1924

Box 66

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. May 1924-December 1928

Box 67

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. January 1929-March 1930

Box 68

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. April 1930-January 1931

Box 69

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. February-September 1931

Box 70

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. October 1931-March 1932

Box 71

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. April 1932-March 1933

Box 72

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. April 1933-April 1934

Box 73

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. May 1934-August 1936

Box 74

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. September 1936-September 1938

Box 75

Margaret Drier Robins to Raymond Robins. October 1938-December 1944 and Undated

Box 76

Raymond Robins Correspondence. 1903-1931

Box 77

Raymond Robins Correspondence. 1932-1948 and undated

Box 78

Mary E. Dreier, Dorothea A. Dreier, Leonora O'Reilly and other third-party correspondence.

Box 79

Addendum: Letters to Lilly Brummerhoff. 1926-1947



Publications

This series reflects Raymond Robins' career as well as Margaret Dreier Robins'. It is arranged primarily by the authors' or publishers' names. There are also a few subject headings. The series includes labor publications, publications related to child labor and women in the workforce, and political pamphlets, including literature of the National Progressive Party. There is an incomplete run of convention proceedings for the Women's Trade Union League.

Box 80

A.
American Federation of Labor.
B-C.
Charities.
Children (3 folders).
China.

Box 81

D-F.
Fight for Freedom Committee.
G-H.
Household economy.
I.
International Federation of Trade Unions.
J-M.

Box 82

McNamara Case.
N.
National Progressive Party.
O-P.
Prohibition.
R-S.
Schools for women workers.
T.
Unemployment.

Box 83

W.
Women.
Women's Bureau, Dept. of Labor.
Women workers.
WTUL Conventions. 1905-1919
WTUL Conventions. 1923-1929
WTUL Miscellaneous (1).

Box 84

WTUL Miscellaneous (2-3).
WTUL - United Kingdom.
Workers movement.



Photographs

This series contains images of the Dreier and Robins families, photographs of WTUL meetings, and political rallies and campaigns. Of special note are the photographs from the Women's Campaign Train for Hughes and Social Justice Day in Marion, Ohio, with then Senator Warren G. Harding in attendance. There are also photographs of people and activities in Chinsegut Hill, but this is depicted much more extensively in the albums. Finally, there is a small folder of photographs from Raymond Robins' participation in Red Cross efforts in Soviet Russia in 1918. Both Bolsheviks and anti-Bolsheviks are depicted and there are several photographs of Yekaterina Konstantinova Breshko-Breshkovskaya, a member of the Social Revolutionaries known as the Grandmother of the Russian Revolution.

Box 85

Dreier family and friends.
Margaret Dreier Robins.
Warren G. Harding, Social Justice Day, Marion, Ohio.
Hughes Campaign. 1916
Immigrants and youth workers.
Labor meetings.

Box 86

Raymond Robins, friends, family, collaborators.
Russia. 1918
Chinsegut Hill.
Unidentified photos.



Albums

This series consists primarily of photograph albums related to Chinsegut Hill and Bimini's Isle as well as the surrounding area. Of particular note in this regard are the photographs of local residents in Brooksville and Bayport and other areas of Hernando County, Florida. There are many photographs of people employed at Chinsegut Hill including African-American laborers. There are also albums depicting Margaret Dreier Robins' youth and an album from Raymond Robins' days as a gold miner in the Yukon.

Box 87

Chinsegut Hill and its people (6 albums).

Box 88

Chinsegut Hill and its people (4 albums).

Box 89

Chinsegut Hill .
Unidentified location.
Raymond Robins, Yukon mining.



Clippings

These are arranged alphabetically by subject and reflect the interests of both Raymond and Margaret.

Box 90

Alaska. 1900
Amalgamated Clothing Workers/Steel Workers.
American Federation of Labor.
Arbuckle Case.
Chicago Evening Post.
Chicago School Controversy.
Child Labor.
Chinsegut Hill. 1931-1932
Chinsegut Hill. 1933-1934
Chinsegut Hill. 1935-1937
Chinsegut Hill. 1939-1953
Chinsegut Hill. 1954-1961
Chinsegut Hill. no date
Communism.
Council of National Defense.
Dept. of Labor.
Dreier, H. Edward and Ethel.
Dreier, Dorothea (sister of MDR).
Dreier, Dorothea (niece of MDR).
Dreier, Katherine.
Dreier, Mary.
Dreier, Theodore.
Employment Agency Bill. 1901-1904
Employment Agency Bill. 1933
England, Labor and politics.
Factory Inspection Laws.
Florida.
Foreign Relations.
Friends.
German clippings.
Hauptmann Trial.
Health, Education and Welfare.
Immigrants.
International Labor Conferences.
Investment.

Box 91

Jerome election (NYC).
League of Women Voters.
National Education Assoc.
National Purity League.
National Women's Party.
National Women's Trade Union League.
Negro.
New York Association of Women Workers.
Outlawry of War.
Pan Pacific Women's Conference.
Politics.
Politics - Chicago.
Politics - Democratic Party.
Politics - GOP.
Politics - Progressive Party.
Price stabilization.
Prohibition.

Box 92

Prominent personages.
Prominent women I.
Prominent women II.
Religion and Men Forward Movement.
Robins, Elizabeth.
Robins, Margaret Dreier.
Robins, Margaret Dreier - Activities.
Robins, Margaret Dreier - Reviews of book by Mary Drier.
Robins, Raymond.
Robins, Raymond - Disappearance.
Robins, Raymond - Missions, writings and speeches.
Robins, Raymond and Margaret. 1913-1929
Roosevelt, Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Theodore.
Rudowitz extradition.
Russia. 1910-1919
Russia. 1920
Russia. 1921

Box 93

Russia. 1924-1926
Russia. 1932-1937
Settlement.
Southern welfare.
State labor relations - New York, Illinois, W. Virginia.
Suffrage.
Ten and eight hour bills.
Unemployment compensation.
Unions - general.
Unions - strikes. 1901-1918
Unions - strikes. 1918-1935
United Mine Workers.
White House Conference on Child Health and Protection.
Women in industry.
Women's Bureau.
Women's City Club.
Women's education.
Women's rights.
YMCA and YWCA.



Scrapbooks

This series consists primarily of clippings documenting the Robins' activities. Of particular note is a scrapbook from Raymond Robins' 1912 U. S. Senate campaign as a member of the National Progressive Party in Illinois.

Box 94

Political scrapbooks. 1896-1918

Box 95

Labor scrapbooks. 1910-1911



Miscellany

Scrapbooks and financial books documenting the life and business activity of Charles E. Robins in Louisville, Kentucky, Staten Island, and Zanesville, Ohio.

Box 96

Charles E. Robins - scrapbooks. 1853-1885

Box 97

Charles E. Robins - financial journals. 1865-1875



Selected Subjects and Access Points

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog:
Hernando County (Fla.)--Photographs.
National Women's Trade Union League of America.
Political campaigns.
Robins, Margaret Dreier, 1868-1945.
Robins, Raymond, 1873-1954.
Social reformers--United States.
Women in the labor movement.
Women's rights--United States.


For further information, please contact: Special Collections Access Services.

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