Sara Agnes Mclaughlin Conboy
Encyclopedia
Sara Agnes Mclaughlin Conboy (April 3, 1870–January 7, 1928) was a labor organizer in the United States
.
She was born Sara Agnes Mclaughlin in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 11 she began working in a candy factory, then spent time in a button factory before becoming a skilled weaver. During this period she was married to a mailman named Joseph P. Conboy, but he died two years afterward. While working at a carpet factory in Roxbury
, she led
a strike that lasted from 1909–10.
Rising to prominence in the labor movement, Sara helped organize the United Textile Workers of America, eventually becoming their secretary-treasurer in 1915. During World War I
she was appointed to the Council of National Defense
. In 1920 she was the first woman to serve as a United States
delegate to the British
Trades Union Congress
. She was also the first woman to direct a bank in the state of New York
, and she served on several government committees.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
She was born Sara Agnes Mclaughlin in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 11 she began working in a candy factory, then spent time in a button factory before becoming a skilled weaver. During this period she was married to a mailman named Joseph P. Conboy, but he died two years afterward. While working at a carpet factory in Roxbury
Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
, she led
a strike that lasted from 1909–10.
Rising to prominence in the labor movement, Sara helped organize the United Textile Workers of America, eventually becoming their secretary-treasurer in 1915. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
she was appointed to the Council of National Defense
Council of National Defense
The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial support for the war, and public...
. In 1920 she was the first woman to serve as a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
delegate to the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Trades Union Congress
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
. She was also the first woman to direct a bank in the state of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and she served on several government committees.