Abigail Kelley Foster (1811-1887), wife of Stephen Symonds Foster (1809-1881) and noted antislavery partisan and women’s rights advocate, was an active correspondent and lecturer on behalf of reform movements in the middle of the nineteenth century.

This collection of correspondence provides a detailed look at the anti-slavery movement in the period 1837 to 1850, particularly in New York, New England, and Ohio. It also illuminates the role of women in politics and reform movements, as well as that of reformers generally in politics. The collection details Foster’s many lecture tours and activities on behalf of a variety of reforms, and also illustrates her role among and influence upon major figures of the period. Principal correspondents include William Lloyd Garrison, Maria Weston Chapman, Gerrit Smith, Jane Elizabeth Hitchcock Jones, Parker Pillsbury, Sallie Holley, and Wendell Phillips.

The collection has been item-cataloged.