Abby Kelley Foster: Download the PDF
One of the first women to lecture in public, Worcester’s Abby Kelley Foster was a fiery advocate of abolition and women’s rights.
“Harmony! I don’t want Harmony, I want Truth.”
– Abby Kelley Foster
”
Taking the Stage
Born into a Quaker family, Abby Kelley became a teacher. Impressed by William Lloyd Garrison’s abolitionist speeches, she joined his organization as a lecturer. Her appearances in Seneca Falls New York – years before the famous women’s rights convention – split the local religious community. Some thought it inappropriate for women to speak or appear on stage with men. A supportive Wesleyan congregation broke away over the issue. Their chapel became the site of the first women’s rights convention.
Recently married, Abby Kelley Foster made a joint appearance at Oberlin village in Ohio with her husband, abolitionist lecturer Stephen Symonds Foster. Some local residents were shocked to see a woman on the platform. An Oberlin College student, Lucy Stone, was delighted and successfully pushed for a second appearance.
– Oberlin College Catalogue, 1850
Not as Easy as it Looks
Abby Kelley Foster advised, “Go where least wanted, for there you are most needed.” She was undeterred by hecklers or threats of physical violence. During one appearance protesters set the stage on fire under her. Some men resigned rather than sharing committee work with her in Garrison’s American Anti-Slavery Society. She became its most successful fundraiser
Taxation without Representation
The home of Abby Kelley Foster and Stephen Symonds Foster became a stop on the Underground Railroad. Later the couple refused to pay property taxes because this amounted to “taxation without representation” for women. The home was seized and bought back at a financial loss.
“Liberty Farm,” the home of Abby Kelley Foster
Abby Kelley Foster and Lucy Stone
A provocative speaker and talented organizer, Abby Kelley went to Ohio to spread the anti-slavery message. Appearing at Oberlin village in 1846, she inspired a Massachusetts student at the local college – Lucy Stone – who would later take to the lecture circuit for abolitionism and women’s rights. After the Civil War she urged Stone to support voting rights for black men if women’s suffrage was out of reach, believing opposition would be an act of “monstrous selfishness.”
Worcester honors the legacy of Abby Kelley Foster with charter schools as well as a shelter and supportive housing program for women that bear her name.
Abby Kelley Foster
Lucy Stone