This is a transcription of the Hannah Elizabeth (Wallace) Foster biography from New Hampshire Women: A Collection of Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Daughters and Residents of the Granite State, Who are Worthy Representatives of their Sex in the Various Walks and Conditions of Life, The New Hampshire Publishing Co., Concord, NH, 1895, page 53.
Hannah Elizabeth (Wallace) Foster
The New Hampshire Department President of the Woman’s Relief Corps, auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, Hannah Elizabeth (Wallace) Foster, daughter of Charles B. and Elizabeth R. (Lovejoy) Wallace, was born in Milford, Feb. 4, 1853, her parents being descended from Scotch-Irish ancestors, who were among the first settlers of Amherst, and possessed of rare intelligence and great executive ability. She is also of lineal Revolutionary descent and a charter member of the local Council of Daughters of the American Revolution. She was educated in the public schools and at Maplewood Seminary, Pittsfield, Mass., December 31, 1874, she was united in marriage with Oliver H. Foster, a prominent business man of Milford, and a leading member and Past Commander of O. W. Lull Post, G. A. R., of that town. She early espoused the cause in which the W. R. C. is engaged, and was a charter member of O. W. Lull Relief Corps No. 5, organized June 6, 1881, two years before the order became a national organization. She has served continually on committees of the corps, from the least to the most important, having been three years chairman of the executive committee. She served as corps treasurer six years, and two years as President. In 1881 she was made Department Guard. In 1891 she was chosen Senior Vice President, and in 1892 held the responsible office of Department Inspector, having also served two years as Assistant Inspector. She has served many times as a delegate in the Department Convention and has also represented the Department in National Convention, and was appointed on the staff of National President Sue Pike Saunders in 1892. While deeply interested and always well posted in Relief Corps work, her energies have not all been given in that direction, church and mission work having also claimed her attention for many years. She has four sons, the eldest a member of the Freshman Class at Dartmouth College.