Amelia Robertson Foss
Amelia Robertson Foss | |
|---|---|
 Foss, from a 1926 publication | |
| Born | August 19, 1840 Peekskill, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 10, 1926 (aged 86) Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupations | First president, Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church |
| Spouse | Cyrus David Foss |
| Relatives | Charles Franklin Robertson (brother) |
Amelia Robertson Foss (August 19, 1840 – December 10, 1926) was an American Methodist leader. She was the first president of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (WFMS), an office she held from 1897 to 1908.
Early life
Robertson was born in Peekskill, New York,[1][2] the daughter of James Robertson and Mary Ann Canfield Robertson. Her father was a Methodist Sunday school superintendent, and her brother Charles Franklin Robertson became an Episcopal bishop.[3][4]
Career
Foss was "first lady" of Wesleyan University while her husband was the university's president, from 1875 to 1880. She was the first president of the Woman's Foreign MIssionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, beginning in 1897.[5][6] She presided over the society's conventions,[7] and toured in East Asia with her husband in 1906 and 1907.[8] She was involved in overseeing Methodist Episcopal projects including a home for the aged, an orphanage, and a college fund.[2] She retired from the WFMS presidency in 1908, and was the society's president emeritus after 1908.[9] She was succeeded by another bishop's wife, Clotilda Lyon McDowell.[9]
In 1871, Foss was a founding member of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Young Women's Christian Association; she remained a board member for over fifty years.[10]
Personal life
Robertson married widowed Methodist clergyman Cyrus David Foss in 1865. They had four children together; their youngest daughter died in infancy, and two of their children died in the 1910s. Her husband died in 1910,[11][12] and she died in 1926, at the age of 86, in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.[13][1]
References
- 1 2 "A Leader of Women". The Christian Advocate: 1684. December 16, 1926.
- 1 2 "Obituary: Mrs. Cyrus D. Foss; Widow of Methodist Episcopal Bishop was 86 Years Old". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1926-12-11. p. 19. Retrieved 2026-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Scharf, John Thomas (1886). History of Westchester County: New York, Including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which Have Been Annexed to New York City. L. E. Preston & Company. p. 368.
- ↑ "The Bishop-Elect of Missouri". The New York Times. 1868-09-11. p. 2. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ "Foreign Mission Officers; Mrs. Cyrus D. Foss, of Philadelphia, Elected President". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1902-11-07. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Missionary Society Elects Officers; Mrs. Cyrus D. Foss Made President of the Methodist Body". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1899-10-06. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "First Day's Work of the Convention; Three Busy and Interesting Sessions Were Held". The Scranton Tribune. 1899-10-05. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Who's who in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries. 1908. p. 268.
- 1 2 "Missionary Meet to End; Methodists Bid God Speed for 40 Girls Departing for Foreign Lands". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1911-11-02. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Growth of Y.W.C.A. Here Phenomenal; Group Formed in 1871 Now One of the Largest in the United States". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1925-09-27. p. 101. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ "Bishop Cyrus D. Foss; One of the Best Known Clergymen in the Methodist Church, Who Has Passed Away". The Buffalo News. 1910-01-31. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "City Congregation Lament the Death of Bishop C. P. Foss". Atlantic City Gazette-Review. 1910-01-31. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved 2026-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Obituary". The New York Times. 1926-12-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-22.