Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

Special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Family of Stephen Foster, American Songwriter, Photographs, A&M 3963, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

William Barclay Foster (1779-1855) and his wife Eliza Claylang Foster (1788-1855) were the parents of Morrison Foster (1823-1904) and Stephen Foster (1826-1864). Morrison Foster married Rebecca S. Foster (b. 1852) and their children were Evelyn O. Foster and William Barclay Foster. William Barclay Foster married Ethel Caster and their children were William Barclay Foster, Richard Knowlson Foster, and Sarah E. Foster. Richard K. "Dick" Foster married Asita de Madariaga, a Spanish national, and had a daughter named Sara-Elena Rosa Foster (also known as Elena [Foster] Dryden).

Stephen Foster (4 July 1826 - 13 January 1864) was a songwriter, often referred to as "the father of American music". Foster composed many popular songs, including "Oh, Susanna", "Camptown Races", "Old Folks at Home", and "My Old Kentucky Home".

Scope and Contents

Photographs and other material regarding the Foster family, relatives of the prominent American songwriter Stephen C. Foster. Highlights of the collection include a daguerreotype of Foster's parents, William Barclay and Eliza Foster, and an ambrotype of Foster's brother Morrison. The collection also contains photographs and other material regarding Foster's grandnephew Richard K. "Dick" Foster and his family. Please see the "Historical Note" for further information regarding the Foster family.

Contents List:

Box 1

Access to the material in this box requires the permission of a curator.

Daguerreotype of William Barclay and Eliza (Claylang) Foster, parents of Stephen Collins Foster; ca. 1845-1855

Ambrotype of Morrison Foster, brother of Stephen Collins Foster; 1857

Small Collections

folder 1; Black and white photograph of William Barclay Foster (II) and his wife Ethel (Caster) Foster; 1 item; undated

folder 2; Photographs of Richard Knowlson Foster at the Stephen C. Foster Museum, at Foster's grave, with Foster's piano, et al.; 4 items; ca. 1999

folder 3; Photographs of Richard K. Foster and others; 24 items; 1928-1985

folder 4; Genealogical information regarding the William Barclay Foster family; 3 pages; 2013

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Foster family
• Foster, Eliza Claylang.
• Foster, Morrison, 1823-1904
• Foster, Stephen Collins, 1826-1864
• Foster, William Barclay.