1811-2007
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The Foster family papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Abstract
This collection consists of the business and personal papers of Boston merchants Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster and Charles Orin Foster, U.S. Navy surgeon Charles Henry Wheelwright, and other Foster and Wheelwright family members.
Biographical Sketches
Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster (1859-1955) was born in Brookline, Mass., the second son of Charles Orin Foster and Caroline Blanchard (Candler) Foster. The family lived briefly in Cuba, but returned to Brookline. As a child, Charles attended the Chauncy Hall School. He graduated from Harvard in 1881 and immediately entered into business with his father at the Boston Sugar Refinery, rising to become superintendent. He also served as director and treasurer of the piano company Chickering & Sons. Foster was a sportsman at college and a lifelong sailing and polo enthusiast. He married Mabel Hill in 1885 in Brookline, Mass.
Charles Orin Foster, the father of Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster, was president of the Oriental Powder Mills and the Boston Sugar Refinery Company.
Charles Henry Wheelwright (1813-1862) was the uncle of Caroline Blanchard (Candler) Foster. As a boy, he attended the Round Hill School in Northampton, Mass. He received an M.D. from Harvard University in 1837 and became a surgeon for the U.S. Navy.
Collection Description
The Foster family papers consist of the business and personal papers of members of the Foster family and the related Wheelwright family, primarily Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster, Charles Orin Foster, and Charles Henry Wheelwright. The bulk of the business papers detail the family's activities related to the sugar trade in Cuba.
The collection contains personal correspondence, speeches, business records, and other papers of Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster, including papers of the piano company Chickering & Sons; business papers and correspondence of his father Charles Orin Foster of the Boston Sugar Refining Company and other companies; and correspondence of Charles Henry Wheelwright, a surgeon with the U.S. Navy.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Charles H. W. Foster, March 2004, with minor additions, 2010.
Restrictions on Access
The Foster family papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster papers, 1867-2007
A. Loose papers, 1867-2007
Personal correspondence, 1867-1915
Personal correspondence consists primarily of letters to Foster from his father Charles Orin Foster, his mother Caroline Blanchard (Candler) Foster, and his sisters May and Susie, as well as a few from other family members and friends. The bulk of the letters relate to family matters. Included are letters to Foster and his siblings from their parents in Havana, Cuba, 1867-1872; a long letter from his father to Foster in Cuba discussing the sugar trade and political matters, 10 Jan. 1883; two printed invitations to receptions at the White House, one from William McKinley in 1899 and one from Theodore Roosevelt in 1908; and three letters from Foster to his mother, written while on his honeymoon in 1885.
Speeches, 1890 and undated
Included are speeches made by Foster to the Thursday Club in Brookline, the Merchants Club, and the Marblehead Historical Society on topics such as atomic theory, investments, industrial trusts, and yachting.
Chauncy Hall School papers, 1870-1875
Included are weekly grade reports and compositions written by Foster while attending Chauncy Hall School.
Chickering & Son papers, 1890-1902
Papers consist primarily of financial records, but also include a printed exhibition catalog, an agreement between Foster and George H. Chickering, plans for a building extension, an article about the company printed in Music Trades, and a personal letter from Chickering to Foster.
Will and related documents [photocopies], 1955-1964
Printed matter, 1892-1953
Printed matter includes Foster's appointment as justice of the peace and newspaper clippings about William L. Candler, yachting, and other subjects.
Miscellaneous papers, 1908-2007
Included are stamps, calling cards, a manuscript poem, sheet music, and other miscellaneous items.
B. Volumes, 1878-1919
Expenses, 1878
Boston Sugar Refining Company records, 1881-1884
Included are accounts, by-laws, notices of meetings, and stockholder votes, as well as records related to the sugar refinement process.
Account ledger, 1882-1887
Included are accounts for the Boston Sugar Refining Company, investments, and personal and household accounts.
Real estate records, 1888
Office letterbooks, 1893-1899
Included are copies of outgoing letters on various business and financial matters. Each letterbook contains an index to correspondents at the front of the volume.
No. 1, 4 Jan. 1893-14 Dec. 1896
No. 2, 18 Dec. 1896-1 July 1899
Family library suggestion book, ca. 1919
II. Charles Orin Foster papers, 1858-1889
A. Business papers, 1860-1889
This subseries contains incoming and outgoing correspondence; contracts and agreements; and accounts, receipts, and other financial papers related to the Boston Sugar Refining Company; the Oriental Powder Mills; Foster, Candler & Co.; and Charles O. Foster & Co. Correspondence includes letters from John E. Claussen in Havana, Cuba, about the sugar trade and the insurrection there, 1869-1870, and correspondence with William Schmidt in Trinidad and New York, 1869-1889.
B. Letterbooks, 1858-1882
Included are copies of outgoing letters from Foster in Cuba and Boston, primarily related to business matters. Among the most frequent correspondents are Adot, Spaulding & Co.; Jose M. Alfaya; Edward L. Alfonso; Baring Bros. & Co.; Burgess & Ellis; John E. Claussen; Albert A. Cobb; E. E. Eaton; Henry W. Graeve; William E. Paddon; P. Parraviani; Parsons & Petit; Henry W. Poor; William F. Safford; William Schmidt; and Col. E. Wade. Some of the letters relate to personal and political matters.
25 May 1858-22 Sep. 1868
6 Feb. 1865-19 Aug. 1875
27 Aug. 1875-21 Mar. 1879
19 May 1879-28 June 1882
III. Charles Henry Wheelwright papers, 1811-1862
Personal correspondence, 1823-1862
Included are letters from Wheelwright at the Round Hill School in Northampton, Mass., to his father Lot Wheelwright, his mother Susannah (Wilson) Wheelwright, his brother William W. Wheelwright, and his sister Susan Wheelwright Candler, 1823-1824; and letters to his sister Susan Candler from Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and other places, 1833-1862. Letters written on his travels describe sights seen, his health, family matters, and his life as a navy surgeon. Also included is a biographical sketch of Wheelwright and a letter from Dr. C. H. Burbank about Wheelwright's death.
Harvard essays, 1832-1833
Bills and accounts, 1811-1837
Also included are a few bills for Susan Wheelwright and William Wheelwright.
Memorandum book, 1850-1860
This volume primarily contains financial notations.
IV. Miscellaneous family papers, 1925-2005
This series contains a photocopy of the will of Mabel H. Foster, 1925; a speech by Theodore Sizer entitled "A Walpolean at War," 1945; and two DVDs of Foster family films, ca. 2005.
Preferred Citation
Foster family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Organizations:
Subjects:
Materials Removed from the Collection
Photographs from this collection have been removed to the Foster family photographs (Photo. Coll. 500.130). Subjects include: the Chickering & Sons building; the U.S.S. Constitution at Marblehead, Mass.; and Foster's Wharf, the location of the Boston Harbor Hotel.
The following printed items have been removed from the collection: The American System of Practical Book-Keeping, by James Bennett (New York: Collins & Hannay, 1831), and a pamphlet about Marblehead's naval history.
The following printed items have been removed from the collection and cataloged separately: tickets to the World's Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival, 1872; the Beverly Yacht Club constitution and by-laws, 1884; and a book by George Gale Foster entitled Sketches of My Life, 1953.