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Philip Foster papers, 1834-1967

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Foster, Philip, 1805-1884
Title
Philip Foster papers
Dates
1834-1967 (inclusive)
1844-1874 (bulk)
Quantity
3 cubic feet, (4 document cases, 1 custom box)
Collection Number
Mss 996
Summary
Papers of Philip Foster, a native of Maine who came to Oregon in the 1840s, established businesses and farms in the Willamette Valley, served as treasurer of the Oregon provisional government, and helped to build and maintain the Barlow Road. He was the brother-in-law and business partner of Francis W. Pettygrove, one of the founders of Portland, Oregon. Papers include business, family, and political correspondence, records of businesses in Maine and Oregon; financial records of the Barlow Road, and papers relating to the Clackamas County, Oregon, school district.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Additional Reference Guides

A detailed item-level inventory to the collection and a list of correspondents is included with the collection in Series C, "Historical background materials."

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

A native of Maine, Philip Foster was born at or near the town of Argyle in 1805, the son of William and Lucy (Spencer) Foster. In 1832 he married Fanny Cummins (or Cummings) and the couple had one son. Mrs. Foster died in 1829, probably in childbirth, and Foster re-married in 1837. His second wife was Mary Charlotte Pettygrove, the sister of Francis Pettygrove, with whom Foster had entered a business partnership in Calais, Maine. Pettygrove later pursuaded Foster to join him in a venture that would take them both to the Oregon Country.

In March of 1842 the Foster and Pettygrove families sailed from New York City to the Pacific on the ship Victoria. After six months in Hawaii they sailed to Oregon in April of 1843 on the Fama. Settling for a time at Willamette Falls (later Oregon City), Foster established a general store there and later built a flour mill in partnership with Walter Pomeroy. Meanwhile his former partner, Francis Pettygrove, purchased a portion of a new townsite up-river that would later become Portland. Foster eventually purchased a half-interest in a 640 acre land claim situated on the Clackamas River at the mouth of Eagle Creek. He also served as treasurer of the Oregon provisional government from July 1844 to July 1845 and was a partner in the Willamette Cattle Company. At the end of 1845 he joined with Samuel K. Barlow to construct and maintain a road for overland emigrants, known as the Barlow Road. Foster's farm at Eagle Creek became a stopping point and supply depot for many of the migrant wagon trains that travelled this route.

In his later years, Philip Foster served as postmaster at Eagle Creek, Oregon (1867-1874) and was involved in local school district affairs. He continued farming and stock raising on his Eagle Creek claim until his death in 1884.

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Content Description

The collection includes: correspondence, records, documents, poll books, accounts, business agreements, legal papers, bills and receipts, newspaper clippings, and genealogical notes. Materials relate to the Columbia River-Hawaii trade; a general store in Oregon City; the firm of Foster & Pomeroy; the Willamette Cattle Company; the Barlow Road; the Eagle Creek mill, the provisional government of the Oregon Territory; the estate of Lot Whitcomb; and Clackamas School District number 17. Also included are correspondence and business papers (1832-1839) from Maine (Calais, Tallmadge Township, and Argyle), F. W. Pettygrove & Company store accounts in Calais, Maine, and Galveston, Texas; and a book titled Sketches of the town of Old Town, Penobscot County, Maine, from its earliest settlement, to 1879 by David Norton.

Correspondents include: Forbes Barclay, William Barlow, Francis Norbert Blanchet, John N. Colcord, George Law Curry, Francis Ermatinger, Overton Johnson, Joseph Lane, John McLoughlin, Joseph McLoughlin, Howard Maupin, John Hipple Mitchell, Robert Newell, Joel Palmer, Francis Pettygrove, Joseph N. Prescott, and Samuel Royal Thurston.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

Portions of the collection are available on Mss Microfilm 996, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.

Preferred Citation

Philip Foster papers, Mss 996, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series:

  • Series A: Maine correspondence and business papers, 1832-1881
  • Series B: General correspondence, 1837-1886
  • Series C: General files, 1842-1902
  • Series D: Historical background materials, 1844-1967

Custodial History

The bulk of the collection was discovered around 1925 in a trunk in Eagle Creek, Oregon, by Elroy L. Meyers, husband of Philip Foster's granddaughter. He presented the papers to the Oregon Historical Society in 1964.

Acquisition Information

Library Accessions 8851, 10111, and others.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Education--Oregon--Clackamas County--History.
  • General stores--Oregon--Oregon City.
  • Overland journeys to the Pacific.
  • Pioneers--Oregon.
  • Postal service--Oregon--Clackamas County--History.
  • Roads--Oregon--History.

Personal Names

  • Foster, Philip, 1805-1884--Archives (creator)
  • Whitcomb, Lot

Corporate Names

  • Willamette Cattle Company

Family Names

  • Foster family

Geographical Names

  • Argyle (Me.)--History.
  • Barlow Road (Or.)
  • Calais (Me.)--History.
  • Clackamams County (Or.)--History.
  • Eagle Creek (Or.)--History.
  • Hawaii--History.
  • Oregon City (Or.)--History.
  • Oregon--History--To 1859.
  • Oregon--Politics and government--To 1859.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Accounts.
  • Diaries.
  • Ledgers
  • Letters (correspondence)

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Barclay, Forbes, 1812-1873--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Barlow, William, b. 1822--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Blanchet, Francis Norbert, 1795-1883--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Colcord, John N.--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Curry, Geo. L. (George Law), 1820-1878--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Ermatinger, Francis, 1798-1858--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Johnson, Overton--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Lane, Joseph, 1801-1881--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Maupin, Howard--Correspondence. (creator)
    • McLoughlin, Joseph--Correspondence. (creator)
    • McLoughlin, John, 1784-1857--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Mitchell, John H. (John Hipple), 1825-1905--Correspondence (creator)
    • Newell, Robert, 1807-1869--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Palmer, Joel, 1810-1881--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Pettygrove, Francis W., 1812-1887--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Prescott, Joseph N.--Correspondence. (creator)
    • Thurston, Samuel Royal, 1816-1851--Correspondence. (creator)

    Corporate Names

    • Foster & Pomeroy (Oregon City, Or.) (creator)
    • Pettygrove & Company (Calais, Me.)--Archives. (creator)

Finding aid prepared by Todd Sulloway and Geoffrey Wexler
2006

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