Rachel Foster Avery

Rachel Foster Avery (December 30, 1858 – October 26, 1919) was active in the American women's suffrage movement during the late 19th century, working closely with Susan B. Anthony and other movement leaders. She rose to be corresponding secretary of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and played a key role in organizing meetings across the country.

Early years

Rachel Foster was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Julia Manuel Foster and J. Heron Foster, the editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch. Her parents were progressive thinkers; her father taking the stance that women and men should receive equal pay for the same work, and her mother becoming an activist for women's right to vote, learning from women's rights leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Stanton held suffrage meetings at the Foster home, and Rachel's mother became vice president of the local suffrage society. After J. Heron Foster's death in 1868, Rachel, her sister Julia, and her mother moved to Philadelphia, where they joined the Citizens' Suffrage Association.

Career

Avery began writing for newspapers at about age 17, sending letters from California and Europe to the Pittsburgh Leader. During this period, she studied at the University of Zurich.

When but 19 years of age, Avery and her elder sister, Julia Foster, were appointed vice-presidents for Pennsylvania of the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). Two years later, Avery was elected as national corresponding secretary of that body, an office which she has held thereafter, with the exception of two years.