Morrison Foster
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Morrison Foster (June 10, 1823May 14, 1904) was the older brother, business agent and biographer for
Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...
, 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 public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
. Digital copies of these documents are accessible online at
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s and are in the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
. 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