Abby Kelley Foster was an influential American abolitionist, women’s rights activist, and social reformer. A radical orator and organizer, she was one of the most dedicated and tireless crusaders for social justice in the 19th century, playing a pivotal role in the Anti-Slavery Society and inspiring a generation of suffragists including Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone.

Name: Abigail “Abby” Kelley Foster

Date of Birth: January 15, 1811 (Died: January 14, 1887)

Height: Information not applicable for historical figures of this era.

Place of Birth: Pelham, Massachusetts, U.S.

Family:

• Father: Wing Kelley (Farmer).
• Mother: Diana Daniels Kelley.
• Spouse: Stephen Symonds Foster (married 1845). He was a fellow radical abolitionist and reformer.
• Children: Alla W. Foster (daughter, born 1847).
• Siblings: She grew up in a Quaker family with several siblings.

Profession: Abolitionist, Lecturer, Social Reformer

Nationality: American

College or University Attended: She attended the Friends School in Providence, Rhode Island (now Moses Brown School).

Biography and What Famous For:

Abby Kelley was born into a Quaker family in Massachusetts, an upbringing that instilled in her a strong moral compass and a belief in the equality of all people. She initially worked as a teacher but was moved to action by the abolitionist lectures of William Lloyd Garrison.

She is famous for breaking barriers as one of the first women to speak publicly to mixed audiences of men and women, a taboo act in the 1830s. Her passionate oratory against slavery made her a target of intense harassment and mob violence, yet she persisted, becoming a leading fundraiser and general agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society.

Her election to the business committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1840 was a watershed moment; it caused a schism in the abolitionist movement, with conservative members walking out in protest of a woman holding such a position. This event explicitly linked the cause of abolition with the emerging cause of women’s rights.

Following the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves, she turned her formidable energy toward the issue of women’s suffrage. She famously refused to pay taxes on her property, arguing that she was being taxed without representation since she could not vote. Her farm, “Liberty Farm” in Worcester, Massachusetts, became a designated National Historic Landmark.

Abby Kelley Foster is famous for her radical commitment to “universal liberty,” advocating for immediate emancipation and full civil rights for both African Americans and women when such views were considered dangerous and extreme.

Career Highlights:

Activism & Reform:

• American Anti-Slavery Society: Served as a General Agent and fundraiser; her election to the executive committee in 1840 split the movement.
• Public Speaking: Delivered her first speech at the first national Women’s Anti-Slavery Convention (1838) in Philadelphia while a mob burned the building (Pennsylvania Hall) down around them.
• Women’s Rights: Organized and spoke at the first National Women’s Rights Convention in Worcester (1850).
• Constitutional Amendments: Helped organize the passage of the 15th Amendment (voting rights for black men), though she was disappointed it did not include women.

Legacy & Tributes:

• Liberty Farm: Her home in Worcester, Massachusetts, is a National Historic Landmark.
• National Women’s Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2011.
• Influence: Credited by Lucy Stone and Susan B. Anthony as the inspiration that led them into the women’s rights movement.