Dorothy Andrews Elston Kabis (March 22, 1917 – July 3, 1971) was a

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

activist from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

who was appointed the 33rd

Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage produc ...

, having served from May 8, 1969, until her death. She was the only treasurer to marry while in office.

Biography

Elston Kabis was born in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

, to Reginald Hastings Andrews and the former Mabel Aston. She was attending Maryville College in

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee, and is a suburb of Knoxville. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area and a short distance from popular tourist de ...

, when she married Russell Ransom Elston (1911–1975) in 1936. The couple

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...

d in 1960. During the 1940s and 1950s, Elston worked in the legal department at the Du Pont Company in Wilmington,

. After 1946, she also operated a nursery

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is use ...

in Middletown.Dorothy Andrews Elston Kabis biographical information, ''Who's Who in America, 1970–1971'', p. 662 Elston Kabis became active in Republican politics beginning with the

Eisenhower administration Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following a landslide victory ...

. She worked in the Delaware office of the

Farmers Home Administration The Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) was a U.S. government agency established in August 1946 to replace the Farm Security Administration. It superseded the Resettlement Administration during the Great Depression and operated until 2006. FmHA mis ...

from 1956 to 1959. She was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

s in 1956 and 1960, serving on the rules and platform committees. She was also a member of the Delaware Republican State Central Committee from 1954 to 1958. Considered a

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, Elston endorsed

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for president ...

for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

in 1964 but thereafter announced that she preferred

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, considered the most liberal of serious Republican candidates. However, she supported Nixon's nomination at the convention in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which ...

, and was rewarded with an appointment to the office of

, the fifth consecutive woman to hold the position.Donald T. Critchlow, ''Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism'', Princeton University Press, 2005, pp. 138–59 Elston Kabis joined the GOP women's auxiliary group, the

National Federation of Republican Women The National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW) is the women's wing of the Republican Party in the United States. Overview Founded in 1938 by Joyce Porter Arneill and Marion Martin, it is a grassroots political organization with more than 1, ...

, in 1954 and was elected president at the NFRW convention in 1962, a post that she held from 1963 to 1968. The most publicized of all NFRW elections was held in Washington, D.C., in 1967 to choose a successor to Elston. Normally the first vice president, then conservative

Phyllis Schlafly Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (; born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American attorney, conservative activist, author, and anti-feminist spokesperson for the national conservative movement. She held paleocons ...

, would have been unopposed for the top position. When Schlafly sought to move up to the presidency, however, Elston worked covertly against her, and Schlafly lost to

Gladys O'Donnell Gladys may refer to: * Gladys (given name), people with the given name Gladys * ''Gladys'' (album), a 2013 album by Leslie Clio * ''Gladys'' (film), 1999 film written and directed by Vojtěch Jasný * Gladys, Virginia, United States * ''Gladys t ...

, a favorite of the Republican moderates, who drew the active support of Governors Nelson Rockefeller,

Winthrop Rockefeller Winthrop Rockefeller (May 1, 1912 – February 22, 1973) was an American politician and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fourth son and fifth child of American financer John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He is one of the g ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, and George Romney of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. Elston Kabis was also active in the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

as well as the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Church. Elston Kabis died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

Sheffield, Massachusetts Sheffield is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,327 at the 2020 census. Sheffield is home to Berkshire School, a private prepa ...

, at 54 while visiting her father's grave. In her honor, the NFRW established an internship program for young women.

Name change

Following her appointment as treasurer by U.S. President Richard M. Nixon as Dorothy Andrews Elston, she married Walter L. Kabis (1914–2009), a World War II Pacific Navy veteran on the USS ''England'' (DE-635) and a school principal from Wilmington, Delaware, in 1970 and changed her name to Dorothy Andrews Elston Kabis. She became the first (and so far only) treasurer to have their name changed while in office, an event significant because the signature of the Treasurer of the United States appears on U.S. paper currency. As Elston, Kabis signature appeared on the series 1969 one-dollar bill. The resulting change in Kabis' signature appeared first on the Series 1969A note, so designated to show a different name as treasurer, even though it was the same person.Richard Nixon: Statement Announcing Nomination of Romana A. Banuelos as Treasurer of the United States
The American Presidency Project,

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

, 2007. Accessed July 23, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabis, Dorothy 1917 births 1971 deaths Treasurers of the United States People from Wilmington, Delaware Delaware Republicans Methodists from Delaware Politicians from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania American horticulture businesspeople Farmers from Delaware Women in Delaware politics American women farmers 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American politicians People from Middletown, Delaware