Appleton-Foster Family Papers: Finding Aid
Finding aid prepared by Huntington Library staff and updated by Diann Benti.
Manuscripts Department
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Title: Appleton-Foster Family Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1717-1897
Bulk dates: 1797-1849
Collection Number: mssHM 27635-27708
Extent:
Approximately 100 items in 1 box
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2203
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains 79 items related to the Appleton family of Massachusetts and the Foster family of Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, chiefly dating from 1797-1849. Letters reflect the
family affairs; social life and customs of New England society and family life. Some letters contain references to the War
of 1812 and to the activities of the Unitarian Church in New England and Baltimore.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
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[Identification of item]. Appleton-Foster Family Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Purchased from Patricia Dykstra in 1957.
The Appleton family of Massachusetts and the Foster family of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, were related through the marriage
of Mary Appleton to John Welch Foster in 1824.
Mary Foster's mother, Sarah (Greenleaf) Appleton Haven (died 1838) married, first in 1780, Dr. Nathaniel Walker Appleton (d.
1795), a Boston physician. The names of five of their seven
children appear in the baptismal records of the First Church of Boston as Charles, George, Mary,
William Greenleaf, and Sally. Following Dr. Appleton's death, Mary Foster married a first cousin of her first husband, Joseph
Have of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, around 1815.
He was the son of the Rev. Samuel Haven and Mehitabel (Appleton) Haven, aunt of Dr. Appleton.
Mary (Appleton) Foster, daughter of Sarah Haven, married John Welch Foster of Portsmouth (Aug. 31, 1824).
This collection contains 79 items related to the Appleton family of Massachusetts and the Foster family of Portsmouth, New
Hampshire. Letters reflect the family affairs; social life and customs of
New England society and family life. Some letters contain references to the War of 1812 and to the activities of the Unitarian
Church in New England and Baltimore.
Some notable items include:
- Letter from James Robertson to Charles Fenton Mercer re Presidential election of 1812. 1813, Feb. 14
- Letter from Mary to Mary (Appleton) Foster, describing social life at Cheltenham, England, and the attendance of the Duke and Duchess of Wellington at an evening party there. 1816, Aug. 6
- List of the members of South Church, Portsmouth, N. H., compiled by Elizabeth Haven (Wardrobe) Thacher and others. c. 1819-1847
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Foster, John Welch -- Correspondence.
Foster, Mary Appleton -- Correspondence.
Haven, Sarah Appleton -- Correspondence.
Unitarian churches -- New England.
Unitarian churches -- Maryland.
New England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century.
United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Personal narratives.
Letters (correspondence) -- United States.
Family papers -- United States.
Foster (Family)
Appleton (Family)
Collection Contents
Box 1
mssHM 27635-27708
Ephemera. Approximately 1760-1899
29 items including 21 miscellaneous fragments chiefly with autographs; small notebook containing a handwritten ca. 1760 sermon
in shorthand; a
1775 treasury note (reproduction?); 1817 stock certificate; 1 page manuscript chart: "Chronological Epitome of the History
of England, from the Norman Conquest to the present time [1820]"; 1862 Army of the Potomac pass for Joseph Foster and family;
1862 telegraph note from D.E.D. Cranch to J.H. Foster, with envelope; and an 1899 Italian art export license.