Born 30 Dec. 1858 at Pittsburgh.[1] Daughter of J. Heron Foster and Julia Manuel.[2] Married Cyrus Miller Avery, 8 Nov. 1888, in Philadelphia; three daughters.[3] An active suffragist, served as corresponding secretary and first vice president of the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and as assistant to Susan B. Anthony, 1880–1909.[4] Helped organize the convention of the International Council of Women held in Washington DC, 1888, and served as corresponding secretary for that organization, 1888–1893.[5] Instrumental in the merger of NWSA and the American Suffrage Association, 1890.[6] Served as corresponding secretary for the National Council of Women, 1891–1894.[7] Corresponded frequently with EBW.[8] Died 26 Oct. 1919 at Philadelphia.[9]
[1] Edward T. James, ed., Notable American Women, 1607–1950, vol. 1 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971), 71–72. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 13 Mar. 2018), Rachel Foster (KHPX-QYC).
[2] Edward T. James, ed., Notable American Women, 1607–1950, vol. 1 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971), 71–72. “Mrs. Rachel Avery, Votes Leader, Dies,” Evening Public Ledger, 29 Oct. 1919, 15. “A Prominent Woman Married,” Philadelphia Times, 9 Nov. 1888, 2.
[3] “A Prominent Woman Married,” Philadelphia Times, 9 Nov. 1888, 2. Frances E. Willard and Mary A. Livermore, eds., A Woman of the Century, Fourteen Hundred-Seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life (New York: Charles Wells Moulton, 1893), 37–38. Edward T. James, ed., Notable American Women, 1607–1950, vol. 1 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971), 71–72.
[4] Edward T. James, ed., Notable American Women, 1607–1950, vol. 1 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971), 71–72. “Mrs. Rachel Avery, Votes Leader, Dies,” Evening Public Ledger, 29 Oct. 1919, 15. “Representative Women of the Convention,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Mar. 1891, 19:141. Ida Husted Harper, ed., The History of Woman Suffrage, 1900–1920, vol. 5 (New York: J. J. Little & Ives, 1922), 17.
[5] Tiffany K. Wayne, ed., Women’s Rights in the United States: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Issues, Events, and People, vol. 2 (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2014), 212. “Mrs. Rachel Avery, Votes Leader, Dies,” Evening Public Ledger, 29 Oct. 1919, 15. Rachel Foster Avery, ed., Transactions of the National Council of Women of the United States (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1891), 354, 359, 363.
[6] Tiffany K. Wayne, ed., Women’s Rights in the United States: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Issues, Events, and People, vol. 2 (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2014), 163, 173. “Mrs. Rachel Avery, Votes Leader, Dies,” Evening Public Ledger, 29 Oct. 1919, 15.
[7] Rachel Foster Avery, ed., Transactions of the National Council of Women of the United States, (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1891), 354, 359, 363. “Mrs. Rachel Avery, Votes Leader, Dies,” Evening Public Ledger, 29 Oct. 1919, 15.
[8] EBW Diary, 22 Jan. 1894, 1–2 Feb. 1895, 5 Mar. 1895, 30 Oct. 1898, and 23 Jan. 1900.
[9] “Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906–1966,” Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com, accessed 14 Mar. 2018), Mrs. Rachel F Avery, Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11, cert. no. 97787/23251, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “Mrs. Rachel Avery, Votes Leader, Dies,” Evening Public Ledger, 29 Oct. 1919, 15.