Morrison Foster (June 10, 1823May 14, 1904) was the older brother, business agent and biographer for
Stephen Foster, a composer and lyricist of
early American music. When Stephen Foster died at age 37, Morrison continued to manage Stephen's estate and acted as a mediator between
music publishers and Stephen Foster's wife and daughter. Documents demonstrate his correspondence with publishers in his receipt of royalty payments on behalf of Stephen's heirs.
Morrison also wrote the first biography of Stephen Foster. Morrison's daughter
Evelyn Foster Morneweck, wrote a biography about her uncle, ''Chronicles of Stephen Foster's Family.''
Writings
In some instances, Morrison's biography conflicts with primary sources and other biographies on the life of his brother, Stephen Foster. He was selective in keeping records and correspondence that belonged to his brother, discarding items that he thought embarrassing. In his biography of Stephen he created an image of a dreamer, a naturally gifted musician, and a genius of a songwriter. He also wrote that Stephen was a devoted son to his parents. He portrayed his brother as being careless with his finances. Later biographies conflict with that of Morrison.
Civic activity
Morrison Foster served on the Allegheny County Centennial Committee as Chairman in 1887.
[
Allegheny County: its early history and subsequent development: from the earliest period till 1790 / by A. A. Lambing ; from 1790 till the present time / by J. W. F. White ; published under the auspices of the Allegheny County Centennial Committee. Authors: Allegheny County Centennial Committee (Pa.), Lambing, Andrew Arnold, 1842-1918, White, J.W.F. (John William Fletcher), 1821-1900, McCain, George Nox, 1856-1934. Collection]
Historic Pittsburgh Text Collection
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Archives
Archival documents authored by Morrison Foster are housed with the Archives Service Center, University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
. Digital copies of these documents are accessible online at high resolutions and are in the public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
. Online access does not require a subscription and physical access can be scheduled for research purposes to view and examine the documents and other items in the collection.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Stephen
1823 births
1904 deaths
Burials at Allegheny Cemetery
History of Pittsburgh