Louisa Woodworth Sanborn Foss (April 19, 1841 in

Thetford, Vermont Thetford is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States in the Connecticut River Valley. The population was 2,775 at the 2020 census. Villages within the town include East Thetford, North Thetford, Thetford Hill, Thetford Center, Rices Mill ...

– September 22, 1892 in

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden, a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on la ...

) was regarded as the best American

elocution Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone as well as the idea and practice of effective speech and its forms. It stems from the idea that while communication is symbolic, sounds are final and compelli ...

ist in her day. Compared to

Charlotte Cushman Charlotte Saunders Cushman (July 23, 1816 – February 18, 1876) was an American stage actress. Her voice was noted for its full contralto register, and she was able to play both male and female parts. She lived intermittently in Rome, in an expa ...

, Foss was counted among the first woman elocutionists in the world.

Biography

Louisa Sanborn was a native of

. She was educated at Thetford Academy, Vermont. She became a teacher and subsequently married Eliphalet J. Foss, the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

photographer. After a few years of home life, she adopted the profession of an elocutionist, studying with

Richard Reeve Baxter Richard Reeve Baxter (14 February 1921 – 25 September 1980) was a widely published American jurist Baxter, Richard R. (2013). '' Humanizing the Laws of War: Selected Writings of Richard Baxter''. Vagts, Detlev F. et al. (Ed.). Oxford, U.K.: Ox ...

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

. Her local reputation as a reader was long known to the literary circles of Boston, where she was affiliated with the Boston Academy of Elocution and Dramatic Arts. By 1883, she had been before the public for five successive seasons, her engagements extending through the principal cities of twenty-two States, and extending from the east coast to the west.

References

Bibliography

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External links

A.M. Lunt, printer, 1875, ''Louise Woodworth Foss: Opinions of the Press, Lecturers, and Lyceum Managers''
1841 births 1892 deaths Public orators People from Thetford, Vermont 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Vermont Thetford Academy, Vermont alumni Elocutionists {{US-actor-stub