Mary Parke Foster ( McFerson; August 14, 1840 - June 18, 1922) was the 3rd President General of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and wife of

John W. Foster John Watson Foster (March 2, 1836 – November 15, 1917) was an American diplomat and military officer, as well as a lawyer and journalist. His highest public office was U.S. Secretary of State under Benjamin Harrison, although he also proved inf ...

, U.S. Secretary of State under President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

Personal life

Mary Parke McFerson was born in

Salem, Indiana Salem is a city in and the county seat of Washington Township, Washington County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,319 at the 2010 census. History Salem was laid out and platted in 1814. It was named for Salem, North Carolin ...

on August 14, 1840, the daughter of Rev. Alexander McFerson and Eliza Reed. She died on June 18, 1922 and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

. She graduated from Glendale Female College near

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. She married

John Watson Foster John Watson Foster (March 2, 1836 – November 15, 1917) was an American diplomat and military officer, as well as a lawyer and journalist. His highest public office was U.S. Secretary of State under Benjamin Harrison, although he also proved inf ...

in 1859 and they had three daughters, two of whom lived to adulthood: Edith Foster, who married Allen Macy Dulles, and Eleanor Foster, who married

Robert Lansing Robert Lansing (; October 17, 1864 – October 30, 1928) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as Counselor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I, and then as United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wils ...

. She traveled with her husband around the world, to countries including Mexico, Russia, France, and Spain. She and her husband were members of the Church of the Covenant, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church which formerly stood on the southeast corner of Connecticut Avenue and N Street NW.

DAR Membership

Mary Foster joined the DAR in 1891, a Charter Member of the Mary Washington Chapter in Washington, D.C. Before being elected DAR President General, she served as Vice President General from 1892 to 1893. She served as DAR President General for a single one-year term and presided over the 5th Continental Congress. She declined a nomination of a second term so that her predecessor, Letitia Green Stevenson, could serve as President General again. During her administration, funds were approved for the

Prison Ship Martyrs Monument The Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument is a war memorial at Fort Greene Park, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It commemorates more than 11,500 American prisoners of war who died in captivity aboard sixteen British prison ships during the ...

Fort Greene Park Fort Greene Park is a city-owned and -operated park in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City. The park was originally named after the fort formerly located there, Fort Putnam, which itself was named for Rufus Putnam, George Washington's Chief ...

Fort Greene, Brooklyn Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the west, ...

, New York, and restoration work in

Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...

. She promoted the marking of Revolutionary War graves and the DAR's American History Essay Contest. Mrs. Foster represented the DAR at the

Cotton States and International Exposition The Cotton States and International Exposition was a world's fair held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States in 1895. The exposition was designed "to foster trade between southern states and South American nations as well as to show the products an ...

. During her administration, the DAR grew: Chapters were organized for the first time in the states of Colorado, Louisiana, Texas, and Washington; the Office of Librarian General was created; and Mrs. Foster encouraged the DAR to create the office of First Vice President General, though this would not occur until 1941. During her administration, the DAR was incorporated by an official U.S. Congressional Act, under H.R. 3553 of the 54th Congress of the United States of America. They were recognized as an administrative and legal entity "for patriotic, historical, and educational purposes, to perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American independence", with real estate in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The act required them to report their proceedings annually to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

via the Secretary of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Mary Parke McFerson Daughters of the American Revolution people People from Salem, Indiana 1840 births 1922 deaths