Edith Claire Bryce

Edith Claire Cram ( Bryce; May 6, 1880 – February 28, 1960) was an American peace activist and heiress. She founded Peace House, which produced anti-war and peace movement lectures, newspaper advertisements, and other propaganda to promote peace. She was a benefactor for the War Resisters League. During World War I, she expressed her pacifist views in newspapers in Chicago, New York, and Washington. She wrote an open letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, in which she asked him to mediate. She also promoted women's rights, specifically advocating for birth control. She was on the Advisory Council at Cooper Union for women's educational fields. Early life Edith Claire Bryce was born on May 6, 1880, in New York County, New York. Her parents were General Lloyd Stephens Bryce, the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands, and Edith (née Cooper) Bryce, the only child of New York City Mayor Edward Cooper, the son of prominent industrialist Peter Cooper. The family home, Bryce House, was located in Roslyn on Long Island, New York. Her mother, a millionairess, died on April 29, 1916, leaving a large estate to her family in her will. The main beneficiaries were her brother and her father. Her father died on April 2, 1917, and according to the will, the bulk of the estate, calculated at $6,667,136 in 1918, went to her children and grandchildren, with Peter the main beneficiary. Edith inherited $957,645.