Montgomery and Forster families papers
Collection 4545
1779-1910, undated (bulk 1801-1854)(0.9 Linear feet ; 2 boxes, 5 flat files)
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania
- Creator
- Harris, Robert.
- Creator
- Montgomery
- Creator
- Stuart, James Henry, 1828-1854.
- Title
- Montgomery and Forster families papers
- ID
- 4545
- Date
- 1779-1910, undated (bulk 1801-1854)
- Extent
- 0.9 Linear feet ; 2 boxes, 5 flat files
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Randi M. Kamine.
- Language
- English
Preferred citation
Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Montgomery and Forster families papers (Collection 4545), Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Abstract
Joseph Montgomery (1733-1794) was a Presbyterian minister elected to the Continental Congress by the Assembly of Pennsylvania in 1780. Born in Ireland, he came to Dauphin County with his parents circa 1737. John Montgomery Forster Sr. (1789-1858) was born in Paxton, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Harrisburg. His parents were Thomas Forster and Sarah Pettit Montgomery, thus the joining of the two families. John Montgomery Forster’s son, John Montgomery Forster (II) was also born in Paxton (1828-1910). Forster (II) practiced law with his father, and he was the state’s first insurance commissioner. The Montgomery and Forster families were well-educated, and both families lived and practiced their livelihoods in Harrisburg and its suburbs.
This collection is comprised of letters, pamphlets, essays, and newspapers from the late 18th to the early 20th century. Miscellaneous documents include land deeds, commendations, and wills, as well as an original copy of the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography from 1877. Of note is a document from the Commission of Confiscated British Property of Maryland. Joseph Montgomery bought one of these properties in 1787. Correspondence in the collection includes a large grouping of letters to John Montgomery Forster (referred to as “Mont”) from James Henry Stuart (1828-1854), a seaman lost at sea. Stuart was lost on the USN Porpoise, a brig deployed to fight against the slave trade. He kept up his correspondence with Forster until the ship was lost in the South China Sea. There is also a collection of letters from Robert Harris to John Montgomery Forster, a friend of both Forster and Stuart.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; 2023.
1300 Locust StreetPhiladelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200
Access restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Provenance
Gift of Dr. Robert E. Forster, 2004.
Accession number 2005.005.
Processing note
Several extremely fragile letters of James H. Stuart were removed from the collection for repair. They will be returned to the collection once conservation work is complete.
Controlled Access Headings
Family Name(s)
- Forster
Genre(s)
- Letters.
- Poems.
Personal Name(s)
- Forster, John Montgomery, 1789-1858.
- Forster, John Montgomery, 1828-1910.
- Forster, Robert E., MD
- Montgomery, John, 1733-1794.
Subject(s)
- Churches--Presbyterian--History.
- Families--Pennsylvania--Harrisburg.
- Genealogy.
- Lawyers--Pennsylvania--Harrisburg.
- Presbyterians--Pennsylvania--History--19th century.
Collection Inventory
| Box | Folder | |||
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Two pamphlets: An Historical Sketch of the Presbyterian Church in New Castle, Delaware (1859) by Rev. J.B. Spotswood, D.D; and Presbyterianism in Kent County, Maryland (1879) by Rev. E.W. Gaylord, Pastor. 1859, 1879 |
1 | 1 | ||
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Miscellaneous poems undated |
1 | 2 | ||
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Three handwritten booklets 1849, undated Folder notesOne booklet contains musings on government and religious intolerance including an essay on Sir Walter Scott, by J. Montgomery Forster (Harrisburg, 1849). A second is of essays is on Junius, the anonymous essayist writing during the reign of George III. This book also includes critiques of the Duke of Grafton and the historian Macaulay. The third item is a short description of statutes concerning the courts and justices of the peace. |
1 | 3 | ||
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Two publications: Addresses Delivered Before the Dauphin County Historical Society in the State Capital, Harrisburg (July 4, 1876); and The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (No. 2 of Vol. 1, 1877). 1876, 1877 Folder notePage 217 of PMHB has a brief biography of Joseph Montgomery (b. 1732). |
1 | 4 | ||
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Correspondence, genealogies, deeds and legal documents, memorials, and invitations 1779-1908 Folder notesCorrespondents include J. Montgomery Forster; R.E. Forster; A. Chambers, and Thomas Forster, among others. Also includes a letter recounting an event in the Civil War by General Anson McCook to Captain James Murdock (accompanied by a poem), and wills of Thomas Forster (dated 1772) and J. Jeannett Forster (dated 1881). |
1 | 5 | ||
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Miscellaneous documents 1780-1803 Folder notesAmong other items, folder includes Joseph Montgomery's request for a supply of marriage licenses; a document from the Commission for Confiscated British Property, 1787; and Joseph Montgomery‘s notice of stipend as member of Continental Congress. |
2 | 1 | ||
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Letters from James H. Stuart to John Montgomery Forster (“Mont”) 1848-1854 Folder notesJames H. Stuart was lost at sea. The letters here are written from various places in the United States and at sea while Stuart was in the Navy. (He was forbidden to keep a private journal.) He counted on his friend Forster (among others) to preserve these letters as a documentary to his travels. Stuart was the assistant surgeon on the USN Porpoise, the brig on which he died. |
2 | 2-3 | ||
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Letters from Robert Harris to John Montgomery Forster (“Mont”) 1848-1850, undated Folder noteHarris was friend to James H. Stuart and John Montgomery Forster. |
2 | 4 | ||
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Forster family correspondence 1847-1852 Folder noteThese are mostly letters to John Montgomery Forster from his aunt, E. R. Heron, his mother, Jeannette Forster, and his father. They are generally affectionate and discuss family affairs. |
2 | 5 | ||
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John Montgomery Forster incoming personal and business correspondence 1801-1879 |
2 | 6 | ||
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| Oversize | ||||
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Papers relating to John Montgomery Scott's appointment to insurance commissioner of Pennsylvania 1873-1889 |
Flat file 1 | |||
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The Harrisburg Telegraph 18 October 1910 |
Flat file 2 | |||
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The Patriot (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) October 18, 1910 |
Flat file 3 | |||
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The Star Independent (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) 18 October 1910 |
Flat file 4 | |||
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Miscellaneous newspaper clippings, mostly political 1850s |
Flat file 5 | |||
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