Lunchtime Lecture: Upstate NY in the late 1800s: the Life and Times of Theodocia Maria Toll Foster

Theodocia Maria Toll Foster, a lifetime resident of Verona, NY, was a highly published children’s author in the latter part of the 19th century as well as head mistress of a boarding school for girls located in Verona and New Hartford. More broadly, her life is framed by a religious movement called the Second Great Awakening, also known as the Burned Over District,  racing across Upstate NY throughout the 19th century. A staunch temperance advocate, her stories speak against alcohol, growing hops, and the travails of big city life.  Writing under the name Faye Huntington, she published some 40 books and many articles and stories in a popular children’s magazine of the day, Pansy. In this talk, Susan Snow Wadley explores her life and her writings and values as reflected in her numerous published writings. 

Susan Snow Wadley, great granddaughter of Theodocia, is Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Syracuse University. She known internationally for her studies of Indian social change, folk arts, and gender. Sometime in the late 1980s, she learned through her daughter’s school project that her great grandmother was a well-known 19th century author. She has since sought to understand the life of this Upstate resident whose history in her own family had been lost. 

This talk will be presented via Zoom and will be recorded for those who cannot attend live. Attendance is FREE with a recommended $10 donation. You can register HERE

This program was funded in part by Humanities New York with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities