George Henry Forster (June 20, 1838 – November 8, 1888) was an American lawyer and Senator from

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Life

He was born on June 20, 1838, in Charlestown, now a part of Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Henry Forster and Mary Taber (Swift) Forster. He graduated from

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in 1857. Then he worked for a railroad company and studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1861, and practiced law in New York City. He eventually became a partner, with the law firm renamed as Weeks, DeForest & Forster. His office was located at 58 Wall St, New York. In 1867, he married Constance, the daughter of Henry L. Atherton. They lived in Riverdale, which was then an area in the Town of Kingsbridge, in Westchester County. The area was annexed by New York City in 1874, and became part of the 24th Ward, but continued as part of the 1st Assembly district of Westchester County until the next re-apportionment in 1879. Since 1898, it has been part of the Borough of

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. Forster was a member of the

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(Westchester Co., 1st D.) in

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; and of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(11th D.) in

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

and

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. In 1882, he left the

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, and joined

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instead. He was President of the Board of Aldermen of New York City in 1888 and died two days after his re-election. He died on November 8, 1888, at his home in Riverdale, of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

. His son, Henry Atherton Forster (1868-1932), was a successful lawyer and historian from New York City.

References

Sources

''Civil List and Constitutional History of the Colony and State of New York''
compiled by Edgar Albert Werner (1884; pg. 291 and 376)
''DIED AFTER HIS ELECTION''
in NYT on November 9, 1888
''GEORGE H. FORSTER'S PLACE''
in NYT on November 13, 1888
List of Presidents of the Board of Aldermen
in ''New York City Mayors'' by Ralph J. Caliendo (2010; pg. 423) {{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, George H 1838 births 1888 deaths New York (state) state senators Politicians from the Bronx New York (state) Republicans New York (state) Democrats New York City Council members Harvard University alumni People from Charlestown, Boston Members of the New York State Assembly Deaths from typhoid fever in the United States 19th-century American legislators