Foster and Mars Family Papers and Photographs, 1898-2001

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Foster and Mars Family Papers and Photographs
source
Mars, Peter
Creator
Foster and Mars family
Collection Number
MSS 1210
Extent
2.25 Linear Feet 2 + o/s folder
Date
1898-2001
Abstract
The Foster and Mars families are branches of one of the oldest Jewish families in Pittsburgh. The Foster and Mars Family Papers and Photographs consist of photographs, correspondence, official records and scrapbooks documenting members of the Foster and Mars families.
Language
English .
Author
The guide to this collection was written by Catelyn Cocuzzi.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Biographical / Historical

The Foster and Mars families are branches of one of the oldest Jewish families in Pittsburgh. Nathan Gallinger (d. 1886) came to Pittsburgh in 1850 from Bavaria, by way of Ohio. He ran a jewelry and brokerage business in downtown Pittsburgh and was one of the early officers in the Bes Almon Society, a burial society and the first Jewish communal organization in Pittsburgh. His grandson Horace Greely Gallinger (1874-1942) was a merchant and businessman who served in the Spanish American War. Horace Gallinger married Antoinette Ohlman (1878-1957) of Meadville, Pa. in 1901. They had two daughters, Ruth and Marion. The family lived in old Allegheny City (now the North Side of Pittsburgh) before moving to Squirrel Hill.

Ruth Gallinger married Byron Foster in 1922. The Foster family was initially involved in oil field supplies industry and later transitioned into the steel industry through the L. B. Foster Company. The company was founded by Byron's brother Lee. Ruth and Byron Foster had two children, Barbara and Byron Jr.

Barbara Foster (1924-2015) graduated from Wightman School, Winchester-Thurston School and Skidmore College, where she majored in art history. She married Bernard "Bud" Mars in 1945. Bernard Mars attended Wightman School and Taylor Allderdice High School and graduated from Shadyside Academy, where he was a competitive swimmer and football player. He graduated from Franklin & Marshall College and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He later joined the L. B. Foster Company. Barbara and Bernard Mars had three children, Sally, Peter and Andy.

Content Description

The Foster and Mars Family Papers and Photographs consist of photographs, correspondence, official records and scrapbooks documenting members of the Foster and Mars families. The collection is arranged into three series titled by family and further by members within each family. A fourth series consists of oversize materials. The Ruth and Byron Foster materials contain memory books from their wedding in 1922 and the births of their children. A scrapbook and assorted correspondence document a trip to Europe in late 1946 and early 1947. A folder of photographs documents a trip to Europe after World War II to purchase steel for the L. B. Foster Company. The Barbara Foster materials contain documentation of her schooling and social life, including a summer camp scrapbook, photographs of her high school and college friends, and a vacation through Virginia, Georgia and Florida in 1946. The Bernard Mars materials contain photographs and documents of his schooling, recreational affairs and military service. Of note are several documents from the 1950s pertaining to L. B. Foster Company's government contracting work and a series of world currency collected by Bernard Mars during his military travels. The Peter Mars materials contain school photographs and photographs from a trip to Israel in 1971 with other Pittsburgh teenagers. Peter Mars married Wendy Mars.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into three series titled by family and further by members within each family. A fourth series consists of oversize materials.

Series I: Gallinger Family

Series II: Foster Family

Series III: Mars Family

Series IV: Oversize Materials

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift from Peter Mars in 2018. Archives accession 2018.0162

Preferred Citation

Foster and Mars Family Papers and Photographs, 1898-2001, MSS 1210, Rauh Jewish Archives, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center

Processing Information

Processing by Catelyn Cocuzzi on 12/03/2019.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.

Separated Materials

The Shofar (1935) and Golden Owl (1969) yearbooks have been transferred to the library.

Related Materials

Antoinette Ohlman Gallinger Papers and Photographs, MSS/MSP 309

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • L.B. Foster Company (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Shadyside Academy (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Skidmore College
    • Taylor Allderdice High School (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Wightman School (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Winchester-Thurston School (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

    Personal Names

    • Mars, Peter
    • Foster, Barbara, 1924-2015.
    • Foster, Byron.
    • Foster Jr., Byron.
    • Gallinger, Antoinette Ohlman, 1878-1957.
    • Gallinger, Horace.
    • Gallinger, Ruth.
    • Mars, Bernard.
    • Mars, Peter.
    • Mars, Sally.
    • Mars, Wendy.
    • Weil II, A. Leo.

    Geographic Names

    • Shadyside (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Squirrel Hill, (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

    Other Subjects

    • Geneology -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Jews -- Education.
    • Jews -- Families.
    • Jews -- Work.
    • Jews -- Youth.
    • Spanish-American War, 1898.
    • World War -- 1939-1945.

Container List