Grace Foster Herben

Grace Ida Foster Herben (born Grace Ida Foster, 19 September 1864 – 23 July 1938) was an American educator and missionary. The daughter of a minister and the wife of another, her career became intertwined with that of Rev. Stephen J. Herben after their marriage. Beforehand she served as the dean of women at Allegheny College, and afterwards she worked with the Northwestern Branch of the Methodist Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. She was a delegate to the 1910 World Missionary Conference, and was the only woman to serve on the New Jersey Council of National Defense during World War I.

Early life and education Herben was born Grace Ida Foster on 19 September 1864, in Lanark, Illinois. Her father was Rev. John Onesimus Foster, a member of the Rock River Conference and chaplain of the Sons of the American Revolution, and her mother Caroline Amelia Foster (née Bolles). Foster received voice lessons growing up, singing to audiences on occasion, and eventually training others; in 1887, she put on a concert with 45 singers, trained by her, in order to help fund her education.