Guide to the Papers of Ernest Moore Foster 1739-1984
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- The Papers of Ernest Moore Foster
- Creator
- Foster, Ernest Moore
- Collection Number
- MSS#217
- Extent
- 1.0 cubic feet (2 boxes)
- Date
- 1739-1984
- Abstract
- Ernest Moore Foster was born on February 8, 1881 to Joseph Miller Foster and Jane Moore of Indiana, Pennsylvania. His papers consist of extensive genealogical records, correspondence, military records, and other sundry items from a number of individual families. These genealogical records are from the Chalfont, Chambers/Moore, Ewing, Laird, McCune, Moore, Morrow, Morton and Robinson families.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
Biographical Sketch of Ernest Moore Foster
Ernest Moore Foster was born on February 8, 1881 to Joseph Miller Foster and Jane Moore of Indiana, Pennsylvania. Ernest was raised in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania until the age of 11 when he moved to Pittsburgh with his family in 1892. Ernest was educated at Liberty School and Pittsburgh Academy. In 1899, he took a job as a messenger for T. Mellon and Sons Bank. By 1906, he was working for the same company as a bank teller.
It was also in 1906 that Ernest was advised by his physician to leave the smog of Pittsburgh and go to the Pacific Northwest for health reasons. Following his doctors orders, Ernest went to the state of Washington where he worked on a mineral survy team near Mount St. Helens, Washington. Not long after that, he took work as a record keeper and chainman during a government survey of the Southern half of the Colville Indian Reservation. He returned to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1907 where he resumed his position with Mellon Bank.
In 1910, Ernest Moore Foster married Sarah Ewing. She was the daughter of a minister from Blairsville, Pennsylvania. Together, they had a son in 1915 named David Ewing Foster.
In 1913, Ernest was assigned to the special department for new accounts at Mellon Bank. In 1916 he became an assistant cashier. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1947.
During his retirement, Ernest served as the Treasurer of the Ben Avon borough council. He was an elder at the Third Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, a member of the Sons of Masons, a member of the American Institute of Banking, the sons of the American Revolution and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. It was also during his retirement that Ernest explored his own ancestry. Ernest Moore Foster died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 11, 1955. He and his wife are buried in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania.
Scope and Content Notes
The Ernest Moore Foster papers consist of extensive genealogical records, correspondence, military records, and other sundry items from a number of individual families. These genealogical records are from the Chalfant, Chambers/Moore, Ewing, Laird, McCune, Moore, Morrow, Morton and Robinson families. Each family is assigned their own individual folder or folders.
Of special interest are the Civil War correspondence that date from 1861. These letters are housed in the Moore family folder. They were written to Kate Jane Moore from Robert Foster Robinson. The letters are brief, but do contain interesting insight into the war. Most of the papers housed in this collection, consist of genealogical records collected by Ernest Moore Foster throughout his lifetime. In most cases, they provide detailed information about each individual family previously mentioned. These records are made possible through countless years of compilation on the part of Ernest Foster. He did this through a good deal of correspondence with a variety of relatives. Much of that correspondence is also in the collection.
There is a good deal of local history on the towns of Cannonsburg, Hannastown, and Saltsburg, Pennsylvania. There is a school catalog from The Saltsburg Male and Female Academy from 1858. It is an original and is in relatively good condition. This catalog along with a variety of photographs from Saltsburg documents private school education prior to the Civil War. Other photographs are from the Robinson family.
Ernest Moore Fosters personal account of life on an Indian reservation in Washington is published as Pack Train and Transit: First Survey of the South Half Colville Indian Reservation 1906. The original journal he wrote and the book it is based on are in the collection.
Finally, there is information related to Ernest Moore Foster=s employment with Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There are a variety of newspaper clippings, two World War I brochures, and an interesting paper weight that commemorates when Andrew Mellon became the Secretary of the United States Treasury in 1921.
Only a brief reference is made to the relationship of Ernest Moore Foster to the famous composer Stephen Foster. Ernest's father, Joseph Miller Foster was a second cousin of Stephen Collins Foster. This is basically the extent of any mention to the famous Pittsburgh resident.
Arrangement
The Ernest Moore Foster papers are housed in two archival boxes and are arranged alphabetically according to folder title.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials came in one accession. They were donated by Eileen Foster in 1995.
Preferred Citation
The Papers of Ernest Moore Foster, 1739-1984, MSS#217, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Processing Information
This collection was processed by the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania Staff. Records rearranged and written by Daniel Prevade on October 3, 1995.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Janet Begnoche on November 5, 1999.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.