Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/543

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FOSTER
FOURNIER
515

(Concord, 1886). — His wife, Al)by Kelley, reformer, b. in Felham, Mass., 15 Jan., 1811 ; d. in Worcester, Mass., 14 Jan., 1887. Her parents, who were de- scendants of Irish Quakers, removed to Worcester while she was an infant. Her education was ftn- ished at the Friends' school in Providence, R. I., after which she taught for several years in Worces- ter and JMillbury, and in a Friends' school in Lynn, Mass. She resigned her post about 1837, and be- gan lecturing as an anti-slavery advocate, being the first woman to address mixed audiences in favor of abolition. Though sincere in her convic- tions and womanly in her delivery, she suffered many indignities in Connecticut during her lectures. While speaking in Pennsylvania, she met Stephen S. Foster, whom she married in New Brighton, Pa., 21 Dec, 1845. The two continued their public ad- dresses, and on one tour in Ohio Mrs. Foster spoke every day for six weeks. They settled on a farm near Worcester, which was their home up to the time of Mr. Foster's death. About 1850 Mrs. Foster began to be actively interested in the cause of woman suffrage, making many speeches in its advocacy, and that of prohibition. She took an extreme view of these questions, and in argument was pronounced and aggressive. Alike in their belief regarding woman suffrage and their protests against taxation without representation, both Mr. and Mrs. Foster refused to pay taxes on their home estate because the wife was not permitted to vote, and this resolution was followed by the sale of the home for two consecutive years, but it was bought in by friends, and finally redeemed by Mr. Foster. Mrs. Foster's last public work was an effort made to raise funds to defray the expenses of securing the adoption of the 15th amendment in the doubtful states. In June, 1886, she attended an anti-slavery reception in Boston. The day preceding her fatal illness she finished a sketch of her husband for this work. Personally Mrs. Foster was amiable and unassuming, but never lacked the courage to pro- clahn and defend her advanced opinions. James Russell Lowell pays this tribute to Mrs. Foster :

" A Judith there, turned Quakeress,
Sits Abby in her modest dress.
No nobler gift of heart or brain.
No life more white from spot or stain.
Was e'er on freedom's altar lain
Than hers — the simple Quaker maid."

FOSTER, Thomas Flournoy, lawyer, b. in Greensborough, Ga., 23 Nov., 1790 ; d. in Colum- bus, 6a., in 1847. Pie was graduated at Franklin college in 1812, attended law lectures in Litchfield, Conn., was admitted to the bar in 1816, and prac- tised in Greensborough. He was for many years a member of the Georgia legislature. In 1828 he was elected a representative in congress, and was twice re-elected. In 1835 he removed to Columbus, and in 1841 was again sent to congress, and served out his term. He delivered a notable speech in de- fence of state rights, in answer to a memorial for the release of the missionaries Worcester and But- ler, who were imprisoned under a judgment of the state courts, and still held in custody, although the supreme court of the United States had reversed the decision. This speech was published (Washing- ton, 1832). He took a prominent part in the con- troversy over the removal of the deposits from the U. S. bank, and in other questions before congress. FOSTER, William Sewell, soldier, b. in New Hampshire ; d. in Baton Rouge, La., 26 Nov., 1839. He was appointed a lieutenant of infantry on 12 March, 1812, became a captain a year later, and was bre vetted major for gallantry in the defence of Fort Erie. He was promoted major on 7 July, 1826, and lieutenant-colonel on 8 June, 1836. On 25 Dec, 1837, he received the brevet of colonel for distinguished service in Florida, particularly in the battle of Okechobee.


FOUCHER, Jean, explorer, b. in Cambrai, Flanders, in 1508; d. in Entre Rios, Argentine Republic, in 1567. He was in the expedition that accompanied Sebastian Cabot when he, after going up the Parana river, discovered the Paraguay. He fixed his abode at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, where he earned a hard living as a pilot for several years, but returned to his native country in 1529. He intended settling at Cambrai, and was studying for the bar, when he learned that the Spanish government intended colonizing the banks of the Paraguay. He immediately went to Spain and offered his services to the chief of the expedi- tion, Pedro de Mendoza, who engaged him as pilot to guide his fleet up the La Plata. The expedi- tion, which left Seville 24 Aug., 1534, comprised 14 ships, carrying 2,500 Spaniards of both sexes and of all ages, 150 Flemish, and 76 horses. Pe- dro de Mendoza landed 7 Nov. at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, and set to work forthwith to build the city of Santa Maria de Buenos Ayres. Foucher, who had acquitted himself with zeal of his duties as pilot, received as a reward the mission of exploring the interior of the country. He set out, 14 June, 1538, across the country of the Gua- ranis, where he built a fort. He afterward crossed the countries of the Samococes and the Sibococes — warlike Indians, who disputed his passage step by step — and penetrated as far as the Cordilleras of Peru. He surprised and defeated the Payaguas Indians in November, 1538, destroyed their vil- lages, gathered the bones of Ayolas and his com- panions who had been massacred there nine months previously, and gave them decent burial. Foucher returned to La Plata in the spring of 1539, and was chosen aide-de-camp by the gov- ei-nor, Alvaro Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, in 1542. Foucher, who had all the qualities for a success- ful colonizer, and thoroughly understood the In- dian nature, decided that they would be easily won over by kindness, and would make useful auxiliaries. He succeeded in imparting his views to the governor, who thenceforward treated them with great humanity, and defended them from the exactions of the other Spanish captains. This caused discontent among the latter. A conspir- acy was formed, and Alvaro and Foucher were arrested by their own officers, judged, deposed, and sent back to Spain in 1544. The council of the Indies took cognizance of the affair, and San- doval, the president, after hearing Foucher, ac- quitted him. gave him an indemnity, and empow- ered him to return to Paraguay, which he did in 1545. The governor, Don Domingo Martinez de Irala, received him favorably, and employed him in explorations. Foucher reduced several Indian tribes to subjection, and established them in the territory of Entre Rios, of which he had been made governor in 1546. The popular affection for him is evident from the Indian songs that have been collected and preserved since his death.


FOURNIER, Telesphore, Canadian jurist, b. in St. Francois, Riviere du Sud, Montmagne, Quebec, in 1823. He was educated at Nicolet college, and called to the bar of Lower Canada in 1846. He was appointed queen's counsel in 1863, has been "batonnier" of the Quebec bar, and president of the general council of the bar of the province of Quebec. He was elected to the Canadian parliament for the county of Bellechasse in August, 1870, and represented this constituency till his elevatiou