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Thomas Forster papers

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Thomas Forster was born on May 5, 1762, near Harrisburg, PA to John Forster and Catherine Dickey. He married Sarah Pettit Montgomery on October 5, 1786 and together they had at least eleven children.

Forster was an agent of the Harrisburgh & Presque Isle Company and, in 1796 or 1797, came to Erie, PA to inspect the company's Walnut Creek holdings. By 1799, Forster permanently relocated to Erie to manage the Walnut Creek holdings.

The Harrisburgh & Presque Isle Company was created by Richard Swan, Thomas Forster, John Kean, Alexander Berryhill, Samuel Laird, John A. Hanna, Robert Harris, Richard Dermond, William Kelso and Samuel Ainsworth for the purpose of "settling, improving and populating the country near and adjoining to Lake Erie." (pagenweb) In August of 1796, the company acquired 430 acres on Walnut Creek and at Waterford. By the fall of 1797, a sawmill was constructed on the Walnut Creek property and, by 1799, a grist mill was constructed.

Forster also served as the Collector of Customs for the Port of Presque Isle from 1799 until his death in 1836. The Collector of Customs was a presidential appointment formed after the Revolutionary War by the 1789 Tariff Act that involved assessing and collecting import duties and taxes, enforcing trade laws, issuing permits and licenses, and facilitating trade.

While serving as Collector, Forster also served as the president of the Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company. The Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company was formed in 1805 with the goal of replacing the damaged Old French Road along French Creek between Erie and Waterford, PA. Work on the road began in 1806 and ended in 1809. The road had tolls every five to ten miles and paid its stockholders until 1845 when it became a township road.

The road also helped facilitate the salt trade, which dominated the greater Erie, PA region between 1800 and 1819. The salt was purchased in Salina, NY; brought to Buffalo, NY; transported via Lake Erie to Erie, PA; unloaded at Mill Creek; transported to Waterford, PA via the Erie-Waterford Turnpike; and, finally, floated down French Creek to Allegheny and Pittsburgh, PA.

Forster additionally served as Superintendent of Lighthouses for Erie, PA and helped establish the first library, Erie Academy, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

He died on June 6, 1836, in Erie, PA.

Sources:

Bates, Samuel P. "Erie County, Pennsylvania." Erie County, www.pagenweb.org/~erie/bates/batesXI.htm. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

Dilts, Kyle. "Salt and Mud: Early Roads and the First Turnpike in Western Pennsylvania." Crawford Messenger, 2017, crawfordpahistory.blogspot.com/2017/06/western-pa-turnpike-history.html.

Freeman, Sabina Shields. "Thomas Forster." Hi Flight Press, 13 Mar. 2015, hiflightpress.com/thomas-forster/. "Thomas Forster (1762-1836)." Find a Grave, www.findagrave.com/memorial/7217680/thomas-forster. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

Warner, KayAnn. "Found in the Archives!" Hagen History Center, 5 Nov. 2021, www.eriehistory.org/blog/found-in-the-archives-2.

The Thomas Forster papers measure 4.6 linear feet, date from 1793 through 1837, with transcriptions from 1941, and provide documentation of Forster's financial and business dealings in Erie and Presque Isle, PA.

The papers include accounts, financial records, and some business documents and letters reflecting Forster's roles with the Harrisburgh & Presque Isle Land Company (1796-1799), as the Collector of Customs of the Port of Presque Isle (1799-1836), the president of the Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company (1805-1815), and, to a lesser extent, his work as Superintendent of Lighthouses and other community-focused endeavors in Erie, PA. Arranged chronologically, they offer insight into the happenings of Erie's early land and business development, salt industry, shipping industry and connection to other Lake Erie cities including Detroit, MI and Buffalo, NY.

Series I. "Account books" is arranged chronologically and includes general accounts with alphabetical indexes, accounts relating to the salt trade, and accounts relating to the trade of gun powder and ammunition. Most of the books represent accounts with numerous individuals, but some books document the accounts of just a single individual, including D. Moorey, Ashbel Kellogg, and Pierre Simon Vincent Hamot.

Series II. "Chronological business and financial material, contracts, agreements, and letters" is arranged chronologically and contains financial documents, such as bills, receipts, invoices, accounts, and payment promises relating to Forster's work and, to a lesser extent, personal finances. There are also letters, agreements, and contracts relating to business matters across Forster's positions.

Much of the material between 1793 and 1803 is either directly or presumably related to his work with the Harrisburgh & Presque Isle Company; a significant amount of the material between 1806 and 1815 is either directly or presumably related to his work with the Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company; and a significant amount of the material between 1799 and 1836 is related to his work as the Collector of Customs of the Port of Presque Isle. There are references to the salt trade – mostly accounts, receipts, bills, and shipping and delivery information – dispersed throughout the earlier portion of the collection, approximately 1800 through 1819.

While this material is seemingly connected to all areas of Forster's career and personal finances, much of the unidentified material is presumably related to his role as the Collector of Customs. While much of this material is not clearly identified, there are some businesses and individuals that appear more significantly within certain eras of the chronology. They are as follows: Harrisburgh & Presque Isle Co. (1793-1803); Forster & Wallace (1804-1806); Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co. (1806-1815, 1819-1821); Major Abram Edwards (A. Edwards & Co. Detroit) (1816-1817, 1820); Major A.R. Woolley (1817-1819); Sill Thompson & Co. at Black Rock (1817-1825); Stephen Woolverton (1821, 1825-1826, 1830); Benjamin Wolcott keeper of Sandusky Lighthouse (1826-1829); Catherine, Theodore, and Sarah Bailey (1831-1836); Beacon Light House at Erie Harbor (1831, 1836); George Kellogg (1833-1835); W. Leander Woodruff (1835-1836); and material relating to Forster's death and the succession of his role as Collector (1836-1837).

There is material related to various official offices of the United States government, including the War Department, Treasury, and Revenue Cutter Service and to sailing master and U.S. Navy Captain Daniel Dobbins interspersed throughout series II. The following names also appear frequently: Robert Brown, William Brown, Robert McColloch, Rufus Reed, Edwin Forbes, Ashbell Kellogg, Josiah Kellogg, I. Kellogg, William Kirkpatrick, and Edwin Kelso (Forster's successor as collector of the Port of Presque Isle). In addition to the salt trade, there are financial documents relating to the whiskey, jewelry, tobacco, and ammunition trades in the area.

The material in series II most notably documents the early land deals in Erie, PA; the salt trade; and the shipping and delivery industry on Lake Erie in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Researchers can expect to find material documenting who was sending and receiving certain goods, what boats they were transported on, and who was captaining those boats. There is also documentation of the United States government's financial support of the land deals and maritime industry in the region.

Series III. Erie Bank and Presque Isle Harbor cashier's checks and reciepts contains miscellaneous reciepts and cashiers checks arranged by date.

Series IV. Transcriptions contains a series of transcriptions of Forster's documents done by someone likely affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania in 1941, long after the collection was donated to Penn. The transcriber arranged these transcriptions into "bundles" identified by a letter. Each of these bundles is accompanied by a checklist that details the original documents being transcribed in the bundle. For example, if the transcribed document is a letter, the checklist includes the sender, recipient, and original date. Checklists for bundles N-W and AA-AG are lost and only the checklists for bundles A-M and X-Z remain.

A knowledge of the history of Erie, PA and the timeline of its business and development will be helpful to approaching this collection. Prior to processing, the material was arranged chronologically, and that order has been maintained. With that in mind, material will most easily be found according to the timeline of business and development in the Erie region. Primary subjects for each folder have been included in the inventory, but researchers should note that these subjects may also appear in folders where they are not expressly mentioned. The majority of the material dates between 1806 and 1826, but the amount of material before and after those dates is not negligible.

While most of the material in this collection is legible, there is a significant amount of water damage and torn documents that render some of the material unusable. Researchers may wish to use gloves when handling this material due to years of dust and dirt accumulation.

Gift of Francis Newton Thorpe, 1888.

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Finding Aid Author
Kelin Baldridge Smallwood
Finding Aid Date
2024 October 4
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Collection Inventory

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"Accounts rendered to the Comptroller General" ["The United States - Their account current with Thomas Forster [sic] for the District of Presque Isle in the State of Pennsylvania"], 1800-1807.
Box 1 Folder 1
General accounts with an alphabetical index, 1802-1824.
Box 1 Folder 2
"Erie" accounts by date, 1803-1810.
Box 6
Turnpike Road Company (significant water damage, title illegible), 1809.
Box 4 Folder 23
Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company account book, 1810.
Box 4 Folder 23
Warrant book, 1810-1811.
Box 4 Folder 23
General accounts by date, 1814-1819.
Box 6
"Sales; United States Quarter Master Stores", 1815.
Box 4 Folder 23
General accounts with an alphabetical index, 1815-1818.
Box 6
General, 1815-1820.
Box 1 Folder 3
Day Book of Thomas Forster Commission Store, 1815-1828.
Box 1 Folder 4
"D. Moorey Salt Book", 1816.
Box 1 Folder 5
Accounts with William Weston, Wilson Smith, John Smith, Hubert Barnett, Matthew Lythe, Samuel Anderson, and William Woodworth, 1816, 1819.
Box 1 Folder 6
"Received & Forwarded", 1816-1821.
Box 1 Folder 7
Accounts for gunpowder and ammunition, 1817.
Box 1 Folder 8
"Account of salt received as the property of Ashbel Kellogg marked A. Kellogg and delivered on his orders", 1817.
Box 1 Folder 9
"Receipts for the delivery of Salt / [sic] 12 November 1817 / Whitman", 1817-1818.
Box 1 Folder 10
General, 1820.
Box 1 Folder 11
General accounts by date, 1822-1823.
Box 1 Folder 12
"Thomas Forster Esq. in account with P.S.V. Hamot" [Pierre Simon Vincent Hamot], 1823-1825.
Box 6
Daybook, 1824-1825.
Box 1 Folder 13
"S. Hays No. 2" account book, 1826-1827.
Box 4 Folder 23
"Work Roll of hands employed on the public works Erie Harbor", 1831-1832.
Box 4 Folder 23
"Statement of public accounts settled and the [sic] given to George Lelden for D. Selden United States Engineer for the public works at Presque Isle Harbor", 1831-1833.
Box 1 Folder 14
Cashier checkbook of the Erie Bank, including blank checks and check stubs, many of the check stubs are written to Daniel Dobbins and Thomas McConkey, 1831-1836.
Box 1 Folder 15

Scope and Contents

This series contains material relating to Forster's business and financial involvements arranged chronologically. Each folder contains a variety of material, including bills, receipts, invoices, accounts, settlements, letters, agreements, contracts, and payment promises. Much of this material relates to general or unidentified business and financial matters, but any significant topics, businesses, and people are identified in the inventory.

Harrisburg & Presque Isle Company, real estate purchases, and unidentified business, 1793-1799.
Box 1 Folder 16
Harrisburgh & Presque Isle Company, a saw mill at French Creek, mills at Walnut Creek, and real estate purchases, 1800 January-December.
Box 1 Folder 17
Taxes, real estate, and unidentified business, 1801 February-December.
Box 1 Folder 18
Harrisburgh & Presque Isle Company, the building of a wharf, saw mill, school, Robert McCulloh, and real estate, 1802 January-December.
Box 1 Folder 19
Harrisburgh & Presque Isle Company, Walnut Creek Mills, and real estate, 1803 January-December.
Box 1 Folder 20
Port of Presque, real estate, saw mills, and business with William Wallace, 1804 January-December.
Box 1 Folder 21
Forster & Wallace, Port of Presque, and unidentified business, 1805 January-December.
Box 1 Folder 22
Forster & Wallace, Port of Presque, and unidentified business, 1806 January-July.
Box 1 Folder 23
Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company and unidentified business, 1806 August-December, 1807 January-March.
Box 1 Folder 24
Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, some William Wallace business, and unidentified business, 1807 April-September.
Box 1 Folder 25
Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company and unidentified business, 1807 October-December, 1808 January-March.
Box 1 Folder 26
Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, estate beneficiary notices, and unidentified business, 1808 April-May.
Box 1 Folder 27
Richard Swan estate, Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, Harrisburgh & Presque Isle Company, and unidentified business, 1808 June-August.
Box 2 Folder 1
Some Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, William Wallace, Daniel Dobbins, 1808 September-November.
Box 2 Folder 2
Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, Daniel Dobbins, and unidentified business, 1808 December, 1809 January-August.
Box 2 Folder 3
Mostly Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, William Wallace, and unidentified business, 1809 September.
Box 2 Folder 4
Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, Walnut Creek Mills, and unidentified business, 1809 October-December, 1810 January-July.
Box 2 Folder 5
Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company and unidentified business, 1810 August-December, 1811 January-July.
Box 2 Folder 6
Some Porter Barton and Company (schooners), Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, Walnut Creek, and unidentified business, 1811 August-September.
Box 2 Folder 7
Walnut Creek Mill, Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, and unidentified business, 1811 October-December.
Box 2 Folder 8
Some Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company and unidentified business, 1812 January-March.
Box 2 Folder 9
Walnut Creek Mill and unidentified business, 1812 April.
Box 2 Folder 10
General business, 1812 May-December.
Box 2 Folder 11
General business with some Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, Walnut Creek Mill, and Daniel Dobbins, 1813 January-December, 1814 January-December, 1815, January-June.
Box 2 Folder 12
General business, deliveries on Lady of the Lake schooner, 1815 July-August.
Box 2 Folder 13
General business (U.S. Quarter Master Stores at Erie, whiskey business, 1815 October.
Box 2 Folder 14
General business (shipping on U.S. Schooner Porcupine), 1815 November.
Box 2 Folder 15
General business (business with Schooner Delegue, Walnut Creek Mill), 1815 December.
Box 2 Folder 16
General business, 1816 January.
Box 2 Folder 17
[Major?] Abram Edwards business, 1816 February.
Box 2 Folder 18
General business, 1816 March.
Box 2 Folder 19
General business and an agreement regarding Schooner "General Wayne", 1816 April.
Box 2 Folder 20
General business and some Major Abram Edwards material (A. Edwards & Co. Detroit), 1816 May-July.
Box 2 Folder 21
Schooner Captain William Miller, work with Detroit and Buffalo, call for Forster's removal from office of the Collector of the Port of Presque Isle, 1816 August.
Box 2 Folder 22
General business and a letter to Forster from Robert Irwin regarding Forster's "trial with W. Penn", 1816 September.
Box 2 Folder 23
General business, character witness statements for Forster, and some Major Abram Edwards material (A. Edwards & Co. Detroit), 1816 October.
Box 2 Folder 24
General business, 1816 November-December.
Box 2 Folder 25
General business, letter from Forster regarding the claim against his conduct as Collector and Inspector of Customs of the District of Presque Isle, and salt delivery receipts, 1817 January.
Box 2 Folder 26
General business, 1817 February.
Box 2 Folder 27
General business, Major Woolley letters, and Harrisburgh & Presque Isle Company, 1817 March.
Box 2 Folder 28
General business and Major Woolley letter, 1817 April.
Box 2 Folder 29
General business, shipments on Schooner Washington commanded by Daniel Dobbins, Robert Irwin of Detroit, and Major Wooley letters, 1817 May.
Box 2 Folder 30
General business, Sill Thompson & Co. Black Rock, Major Woolley letters, public notice regarding a libelous publication about Leonard Gordon, and Major Abram Edwards material (A. Edwards & Co. Detroit), 1817 June.
Box 2 Folder 31
General business; Major Woolley letters; shipments on the Schooner George Washington captained by Daniel Dobbins, Schooner Diligence, and Schooner Michigan; Major Abram Edwards material (A. Edwards & Co. Detroit); and shipments on the Schooner Diligence; Sill Thompson & Co, 1817 July.
Box 2 Folder 32
General business, Schooner George Washington captained by Daniel Dobbins, Sill Thompson & Co. Black Rock, and Major Woolley letters, 1817 August.
Box 2 Folder 33
General business and shipments by Major Abram Edwards (A. Edwards & Co. Detroit) on Schooner Diligence, 1817 September.
Box 2 Folder 34
General business, Schooner George Washington captained by Daniel Dobbins, and Major A.R. Woolley, 1817 October.
Box 2 Folder 35
General business and Sill Thompson & Co. Black Rock, 1817 November.
Box 2 Folder 36
General business, 1817 December.
Box 2 Folder 37
General business and Sill Thompson & Co Black Rock, 1818 January-February.
Box 2 Folder 38
General business and Major A.R. Woolley letter, 1818 March-April.
Box 2 Folder 39
General Business, James Biddle, Major Abram Edwards (A. Edwards & Co. Detroit), Harrisburgh & Presque Isle Company, and Major A.R. Woolley, 1818 May-June.
Box 2 Folder 40
General business, Major A.R. Woolley, and Sill Thompson Co., 1818 July-December.
Box 2 Folder 41
General business, Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co., Sill Thompson Co., and letters from Forster to his father and brother, 1819 January-April.
Box 3 Folder 1
General business, Sill Thompson & Co., William Hughes, and Wilson Smith, 1819 May.
Box 3 Folder 2
General business, Sill Thompson Co., and Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co., 1819 June.
Box 3 Folder 3
General business, Major A.R. Woolley, Major Abram Edwards (A. Edwards & Co. Detroit), and Sill Thompson Co., 1819 July.
Box 3 Folder 4
General business, Sill Thompson Co., and the estate of A. Gilbert, 1819 August.
Box 3 Folder 5
General business and Sill Thompson Co., 1819 September.
Box 3 Folder 6
General business, Sill Thompson Co., and Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co., 1819 October.
Box 3 Folder 7
General business, Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, and Schooner Michigan shipments for Sill Thompson & Co., 1819 November.
Box 3 Folder 8
General business, Major A.R. Woolley, McDonnell & Ekin, and Sill Thompson Co., 1819 December.
Box 3 Folder 9
General business, Sill Thompson Co., and Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co., 1820 January-April.
Box 3 Folder 10
General business, McDonnell & Ekin, United States War Department, United States Ordinance Department, and Sill Thompson Co., 1820 May.
Box 3 Folder 11
General business and Sill Thompson Co., 1820 June.
Box 3 Folder 12
General business, Sill Thompson Co., and Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co., 1820 July.
Box 3 Folder 13
General business, Major Abram Edwards (A. Edwards & Co. Detroit), Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co., and Sill Thompson Co., 1820 August-September.
Box 3 Folder 14
General business, Major Abram Edwards (A. Edwards & Co. Detroit), Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co., and John Vincent, 1820 October-November.
Box 3 Folder 15
General business, Sill Thompson Co., and the United States, 1820 December.
Box 3 Folder 16
General business, Wright & Kellogg, Erie & Waterford Co., John Vincent, and Sill Thompson Co., 1821 January-February.
Box 3 Folder 17
General business, 1821 March-April.
Box 3 Folder 18
General business and Sill Thompson Co., 1821 May.
Box 3 Folder 19
General business, Sill Thompson Co., and Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co., 1821 June.
Box 3 Folder 20
General business and Sill Thompson Co., 1821 July-August.
Box 3 Folder 21
General business, Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co., the United States, and Stephen Woolverton, 1821 September.
Box 3 Folder 22
General business, Stephen Woolverton, and Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co., 1821 October.
Box 3 Folder 23
General business and Stephen Woolverton, 1821 November.
Box 3 Folder 24
General business, 1821 December.
Box 3 Folder 25
General business and Sill Thompson Co., 1822 January-March.
Box 3 Folder 26
General business, Stephen Woolverton, G. Sanford & Co., and Sill Thompson Co., 1822 April-May.
Box 3 Folder 27
General business and Sill Thompson Co., 1822 June-December, 1823 January-March.
Box 3 Folder 28
General business, settlement of Forster as agent of the Harrisburgh and Presque Isle Company, Walnut Creek Mills, and Sill Thompson Co., 1823 April-July.
Box 3 Folder 29
General business, 1823 August-December, 1824 January-December.
Box 3 Folder 30
General business, Sill Thompson Co., and Joseph Hughes Tobacco & Gin, 1825 January-March.
Box 3 Folder 31
General business and Stephen Woolverton, 1825 April-June.
Box 3 Folder 32
General business, 1825 July-September.
Box 3 Folder 33
General business and "amicable suits" against Forster, 1825 October-December.
Box 3 Folder 34
General business and Stephen Woolverton letters, 1826 January-February.
Box 3 Folder 35
General business and Benjamin Wolcott keeper of Sandusky Lighthouse, 1826 March-September.
Box 3 Folder 36
General business, 1826 October-December, 1827 January-December, 1828 January-June.
Box 3 Folder 37
General business and Benjamin Wolcott keeper of Sandusky Lighthouse, 1828 July-December, 1829 January-June.
Box 3 Folder 38
General business and H.H. Wilcox & Co. Sandusky, OH, 1829 July-December.
Box 4 Folder 1
General business, 1830 January-March.
Box 4 Folder 2
General business, accounts with Daniel Dobbins of the Revenue Cutter Benjamin Rush, and letters with Stephen Woolverton, 1830 April-September.
Box 4 Folder 3
General business, 1830 October-December.
Box 4 Folder 4
General business, Erie & Waterford Turnpike Road Co., and Daniel Dobbins, 1831 January-July.
Box 4 Folder 5
General business, payments related to vessels of the United States, tuition payments for Theodore and Sarah Bailey for the school room on Sassafras street, Catherine Bailey receipt, and Beacon Lighthouse at Erie Harbor, 1831 August-December.
Box 4 Folder 6
General business and tuition payments for Theodore Bailey for the school room on Sassafras street, 1832 January-July.
Box 4 Folder 7
General business, Catherine Bailey receipt, tuition payments for Charles Forster, and list of United States public property at Presque Isle harbor, 1832 August-December.
Box 4 Folder 8
General business and tuition payments for Theodore Bailey and Charles Forster, payments to George Kellogg, accounts with P.S.V. Hamot [Pierre Simon Vincent Hamot?], and the United States, 1833 January-December.
Box 4 Folder 9
General business, accounts with P.S.V. Hamot [Pierre Simon Vincent Hamot?], and payment to George Kellogg, 1834 January-June.
Box 4 Folder 10
General business, Gillaspie & Jackson accounts to Forster and Catharine Bailey, payments to George Kellogg, and the United States quarter master, 1834 July-December.
Box 4 Folder 11
General business, memorandum of agent Thomas Forster on behalf of Catharine Bailey, and receipt for items including shoes for Sarah Bailey, 1835 January-May.
Box 4 Folder 12
General business, receipt from George Kellogg, tax slip including Catharine Bailey, and recommendations on behalf of W. Leander Woodruff for the Deputy Collector and Inspector for the Port of Presque Isle, 1835 June-December.
Box 4 Folder 13
General business, letter from W. Leander Woodruff, recommendations on behalf of W. Leander Woodruff, Catherine Bailey receipt, and United States payments to numerous individuals and for Beacon light house, 1836 January-June.
Box 4 Folder 14
Rolls of United States Revenue Cutter Erie, 1836 January-June.
Box 4 Folder 15
"Material for a case file" possibly relating to the transfer of Forster's professional material following his death, 1836 July.
Box 4 Folder 16
United States payments relating to Beacon light, transfer of professional material according to Thomas Forster's will, and Edwin Kelso material, 1836 July-August, 1837.
Box 4 Folder 17
Correspondence, undated.
Box 4 Folder 18
General business, undated.
Box 4 Folder 19

Cashier's checks, Erie Bank, 1829-1831.
Box 4 Folder 20
Presque Isle Harbor receipts (including the item and its recipient), 1834.
Box 4 Folder 21
Presque Isle Harbor receipts (including the item and its recipient), 1835.
Box 4 Folder 22

Scope and Contents

This series contains transcriptions of Forster's documents arranged into "bundles" identified by a letter. Each of these bundles is accompanied by a checklist that details the original documents being transcribed in the bundle. The material below contains the checklists for bundles A-M and X-Z and the transcriptions for bundles A-Z, AA-AG. It is unclear if these transcriptions correspond to the original material in this collection.

Checklists, bundles A-M, X-Z (lists of documents transcribed), 1941.
Box 4 Folder 24
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle A, 1941.
Box 4 Folder 25
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle B, 1941.
Box 4 Folder 26
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle C, 1941.
Box 4 Folder 27
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle D, 1941.
Box 4 Folder 28
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle E, 1941.
Box 4 Folder 29
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle F, 1941.
Box 4 Folder 30
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle G, 1941.
Box 4 Folder 31
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle H, 1941.
Box 4 Folder 32
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle I, 1941.
Box 4 Folder 33
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle J, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 1
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle K, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 2
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle L, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 3
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle M, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 4
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle N, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 5
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle O, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 6
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle P, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 7
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle Q, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 8
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle R, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 9
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle S, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 10
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle T, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 11
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle U, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 12
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle V, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 13
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle W, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 14
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle X, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 15
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle Y, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 16
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle Z, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 17
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle AA, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 18
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle AB, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 19
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle AC, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 20
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle AD, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 21
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle AE, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 22
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle AF, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 23
Transcriptions of Forster documents, bundle AG, 1941.
Box 5 Folder 24

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