Nina Larrey Duryea (August 11, 1874 – November 1, 1951) was an American writer, decorated for her relief work during World War I.
Early life Nina Larrey Smith was born in Cohasset, Massachusetts, the daughter of Franklin Webster Smith and Laura Bevan Smith. Her father was a merchant in Boston, and a founder of the YMCA in the United States. She was educated in Boston and in Belgium."Mrs. Duryea Dead; War Work Leader" New York Times (November 3, 1951): 17.
Career Books by Duryea included Tales of St. Augustine (1891), Among the Palms (1903),Nina Larrey Duryea, Among the Palms (J. F. Taylor & Company 1903). House of Seven Gabblers (1911),Nina Larrey Duryea, House of Seven Gabblers (D. Appleton & Company 1911). The Voice Unheard: A Story of Dinard (1913),Nina Larrey Duryea, A Voice Unheard: A Story of Dinard (Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company Ltd. 1913). A Sentimental Dragon (1916),Nina Larrey Duryea, A Sentimental Dragon (George H. Doran & Company 1916). The Soul of Fighting France (1918), Mallorca the Magnificent (1927),Nina Larrey Duryea, Mallorca the Magnificent (The Century 1927). and The Pride of Maura (1932).Nina Larrey Duryea, The Pride of Maura (Sears Publishing Company 1932). Of Duryea's A Sentimental Dragon, a magazine editor promised that "the characters are very much alive, the situations are drawn with deft and delicious humor, and the dialogue is filled with sparkling brilliants and epigrams that make one stop to read them a second time.""The Complete Novelette" The Smart Set (September 1912): 2.
Duryea spent her summers in Brittany. In autumn of 1914, Life magazine, The New York Times, and many other news outlets published Duryea's letters describing the refugees arriving in her town,"Helpless Victims of War's Cruel Tide" New York Times (September 4, 1914): 4."For the Sufferers" Life Magazine (November 5, 1914): 805. Duryea founded Duryea War Relief (Secours Duryea) at Dinard. From a base in Roye, Somme, and a depot at Lille, she and her assistants distributed clothing, food, garden tools, medicine and other necessities to over 70,000 war survivors and refugees.Ida Clyde Gallagher Clarke, American Women and the World War (D. Appleton 1918): 483. Her organization also opened a children's center offering meals and a safe playground (while outdoor play was still dangerous from shrapnel, explosives and other hazards), a hospital for children with tuberculosis, and an orphanage."The French-American Hall of Fame: Mrs. Nina Larrey Duryea" La France (April 1920): 346. Duryea was named a member of the French Legion of Honour for her work, with further decorations from Belgium, Italy, Russia and Montenegro."The Anglo-American Entente" Woman's Home Companion (May 1919): 58."Montenegrin Queen Honors U. S. Women" Salt Lake Herald-Republican (April 7, 1918): 35. via Newspapers.com"Another Decoration for Mrs. Nina Duryea" Courier News (April 19, 1918): 11. via Newspapers.com
After the war, she served as vice president of the International Revival of Industrial Arts, building a market for handicrafts from war-affected regions."Activities of Members" Journal of the National Institute of Social Sciences 6(July 1920): 123-124. She also invented a textile named Sona and a garment called Torsolite, for protective use in hazardous situations."Mrs. Nina L. Duryea, 83, Widow of Murder Case Defendant" Brooklyn Daily Eagle (November 3, 1951): 5. via Newspapers.com"Mrs. Duryea's Invention Put on the Market" Berkshire Eagle (August 18, 1943): 9. via Newspapers.com
In 1919, a comedy by Duryea, Mrs. Drummond's War Relief, was produced in New York, directed by Hilda Spong, with Duryea and others raising funds and giving speeches about post-war reconstruction during intermissions."Duryea War Relief Will Rebuild Lille" New York Times (May 5, 1919): 7. Another play by Duryea, Love — Common or Preferred, was produced as a fundraiser in 1932.
Personal life Nina Larrey Smith married inventor Chester Burrell Duryea in 1898."Weddings of Early June" New York Times (June 2, 1898): 7. The couple had one son, Chester, before separating in 1903."Mrs. Duryea's Suit Heard" New York Times (February 25, 1903): 16. In 1914, her ex-husband was committed to Matteawan State Hospital in New York after killing his father, Civil War general Hiram Duryea. Smith died in 1951 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, at the age of 77.
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