1873-1974
Guide to the Collection
The Hilda Chase Foster papers are stored offsite and must be requested at
least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at
library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request
materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before
requesting cartons by barcode.
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| Creator: | Foster, Hilda Chase, 1891-1974.
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| Title: | Hilda Chase Foster papers |
| Dates: | 1873-1974 |
| Physical Description: | 4 record
cartons |
| Call Number: | OFFSITE STORAGE |
| Repository: | Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02215
library@masshist.org |
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Abstract:
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This collection consists of the papers of Hilda
Chase Foster, 1873-1979, collected by Anne Farlow Morris while compiling
Foster's memoir, including family and business correspondence, writings, travel
notebooks, passports, recipes, membership cards and certificates, newspaper
clippings, sound recordings, and ephemera including calling cards, invitations,
tickets, and ration materials.
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Hilda Chase Foster
Hilda Chase Foster (1891-1974) was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the
daughter of Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster (1859-1955) and Mabel Chase Hill
Foster (1864-1925). She was the fourth of nine children. Her siblings were
Charles O. (1887-1933), Catherine H. (1888-1975), Reginald C. (1889-1945),
Edith H. (1893-1977), Ruth M. (1894-1896), Caroline W. (b. 1896), Barbara
(1899-1952), and John W. (1907-1913).
The family moved from Brookline to Charles River Village in Needham, Mass.
in 1901. Their home became known as Castle Farm. Hilda attended school in
Chestnut Hill until the age of twelve when she transferred to Miss Winsor's
School on Beacon Street in Boston. After attending Miss Low and Miss Heywood's
School in Stamford, Connecticut, Hilda made her debut on October 7th, 1910.
Hilda's parents maintained a summer home in Marblehead, Massachusetts for
many years and her father was the owner of numerous yachts and sailing vessels.
Hilda and her siblings grew up around the water and were all avid sailors.
In 1915 Hilda's brother Reginald went to Germany and Poland. He was employed
by the Rockefeller Foundation and organized the care of orphans during World
War I. He eventually joined the Red Cross in Europe, and convinced Hilda to do
the same. She joined at the end of World War I, and arrived in Paris on
Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. She remained abroad for some time performing
various Red Cross service jobs in France, Germany, and Poland. Reginald
remained in Europe as well, and the two saw each other and traveled on
occasion.
After Hilda returned to the United States she was briefly engaged to a man
named "Bill" Wanton Dunnell. He was a family friend who Hilda met in Squam
Lake, New Hampshire. The engagement was called off and Hilda never married, but
Wanton's mother, Mrs. W.W. Dunnell remained her traveling companion, close
friend, and correspondent.
Hilda spent a great part of the 1920's and 1930's traveling. She spent time
in Westmeath, Ireland where she took part in fox hunting, and from 1934-1935
she embarked on a trek through Kashmir, traveled throughout Asia, and visited
Australia and New Zealand.
When war was declared in Europe in 1939 Hilda returned to work as an
ambulance driver in Cambridge, England. Her brother Reginald also returned to
Europe.
Upon her return to the United States in 1942, she continued her work for the
war effort. She worked on the assembly line at the Hood Rubber Company in
Watertown, Mass., and at the Commercial Filters Corporation in Boston.
In 1957 she made her home in Norwich, Vermont where she died of natural
causes in 1974.
Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster and Mabel Hill Foster
Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster was born in 1859 in Brookline, Mass. He was
the second son of Charles Orin Foster and Caroline Blanchard Candler Foster.
The family briefly lived in Cuba, but returned to Brookline where Caroline gave
birth to three daughters.
His father was president of Oriental Powder Mills and president of the
Boston Sugar Refinery Company.
Charles went to the William N. Eayrs School in Brookline, and then to
Harvard where he graduated in 1881. He immediately entered his father's
business, rising to become superintendent of the sugar refinery. He was a
sportsman at college, and was a lifelong sailing and polo enthusiast. He died
in 1955.
Mabel Hill was born in 1864, one of four daughters to William Henry Hill and
Catherine Cogswell Chase Hill. Her father was a director of the First National
Bank of Boston, and a railroad investor. Mabel died in 1925.
Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster and Mabel Hill were married on October 7th,
1885 at Saint Paul's Church in Brookline, Mass.
Please note the Family Tree on pages 224-225 of
The Memoirs of Hilda Chase Foster.
Morris, Anne Farlow. The Memoirs of Hilda Chase
Foster. 1982.
The Overseas War Record of the Winsor
School, 1914-1919.
The Hilda Chase Foster papers, 1873-1979, consist of 4 record cartons. The
collection includes personal correspondence, as well as business
correspondence, travel notebooks, newspaper clippings, recipes, address books,
writings, financial materials, recordings, and ephemeral memorabilia of Hilda
Chase Foster and her family.
These papers were gathered to supply information for The Memoirs of Hilda Chase Foster, written by Anne
Farlow Morris, a grandniece of Hilda Chase Foster. The memoir was privately
printed in 1982 for the Foster family and their friends. A copy of the memoir
is in the print collection of the MHS.
The bulk of the papers in this collection consist of Hilda's personal
correspondence, including letters to and from family members, friends, and
acquaintances throughout the course of her life. This correspondence and other
papers span Hilda's childhood, Red Cross service jobs in Europe during World
War I, work as an ambulance driver in England during World War II, and travels
through Ireland, Asia, and Australia.
The collection also includes papers of Hilda's parents Charles Henry
Wheelwright Foster and Mabel Chase Hill Foster. They include correspondence
from early in their marriage and from their young children, papers relating to
their wedding, writings, recipes, newspaper clippings, and financial materials.
The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) holds the following collections
that are related to the Hilda Chase Foster papers:
Hilda Chase Foster photographs, 1879-1981. Photo. Coll. 143. Finding aid
available at
http://www.masshist.org/findingaids/doc.cfm?fa=fap015.
Charles H.W. Foster diaries, 1901-1955. Finding aid available at:
http://www.masshist.org/findingaids/doc.cfm?fa=fa0101.
In the process of compiling The Memoirs of Hilda
Chase Foster, Anne Farlow Morris, the donor of the collection and
grandniece of Hilda Chase Foster, organized the papers into six periods of her
life, each corresponding to specific chapters of The
Memoirs. That arrangement has been preserved and is reflected by the
series arrangement of the collection.
The papers of Hilda Chase Foster were given to the Massachusetts Historical
Society by Anne Farlow Morris, May 2001.
The Hilda Chase Foster papers are stored offsite and must be requested at
least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at
library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request
materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before
requesting cartons by barcode.
The collection is organized into the following series:
| | | |
| I. Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster and Mabel Hill Foster papers,
1876-1956 |
| II. Hilda Chase Foster papers, 1889-1974 |
| | A. Childhood papers, 1889-1914 |
| | B. World War I papers, 1915-1919 |
| | C. 1920's & 1930's papers, 1921-1937 |
| | D. World War II papers, 1937-1946 |
| | E. 1946-1956 |
| | F. Norwich, Vermont, 1957-1974 |
| | G. Miscellaneous correspondence and papers |
| | H. Recordings, 1935-1973 |
| III. Anne Farlow Morris notes, ca. 1977-1979 |
| | | | | | | | |
| Carton | Barcode | Folder | Contents |
| | | I. Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster and Mabel Hill Foster papers,
1876-1956
Arranged chronologically by type.This series contains correspondence, school papers, wedding papers, recipes,
household lists, passports and licenses, address books, a calendar and memo
book, clippings, ephemera, and printed materials of Hilda Chase Foster's
parents Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster (CHWF) and Mabel Hill Foster (MHF), as
well as some materials of her paternal and maternal grandparents, Charles Orin
Foster and Caroline Blanchard Candler Foster, and William Henry Hill and
Catherine Cogswell Chase Hill. This series primarily corresponds to Chapters 1
and 2 of The Memoirs of Hilda Chase Foster.
Personal correspondence consists of early letters between CHWF and MHF, as
well as from various family members and friends, before and during the early
years of their marriage, from Hilda Chase Foster and Reginald Foster to their
parents as children, and between CHWF and MHF in the 1920s. Business
correspondence contains letters to and from CHWF, mostly relating to his
estate.
School papers include assignments and report cards from CHWF's time at the
William N. Eayrs school in Brookline, Mass., and the Chauncy Hall School.
Wedding papers include bills, invoices, invitations, congratulatory notes, a
book of names and addresses of people presumably invited to the wedding, and a
gift registry book. Ephemera consist of invitations, calling cards, tickets,
and quilting patterns.
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| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 1-3 | | Personal correspondence,
1873-1925 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 4-5 | | Business correspondence,
1881-1956 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 6 | | School papers and report cards,
1870-1877 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 7 | | Wedding papers,
1883-1885 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 8 | | Wedding list book,
1885 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 8 | | Wedding gift book,
1884-1885 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 9 | | Writings and drawings,
1885-1955 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 10 | | Recipes |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 11 | | Household lists |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 12 | | Passports and licenses,
1882,
1922,
1928 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 13 | | Address books |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 14 | | Calendar/Memoranda book,
1859 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 15 | | Newspaper clippings |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 16 | | Ephemera (invitations),
1880-1955 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 17 | | Ephemera (calling cards) |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 18 | | Ephemera (tickets),
1876-1902 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 19 | | Ephemera (quilting patterns) |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 20 | | Printed materials,
1885-1941 |
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| | | II. Hilda Chase Foster papers,
1889-1974
This series is organized in eight subseries. The first six subseries
correspond to periods in Hilda Chase Foster's life and are as follows:
childhood, World War I, the 1920s and 1930s, World War II, 1946-1956, and
Norwich, Vermont. Anne Farlow Morris, Hilda Chase Foster's grandniece, arranged
the series in this manner as she used the collection to write
The Memoirs of Hilda Chase Foster, which was
published in 1982. Two additional series include recordings and miscellaneous
correspondence and papers.
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| | | | A. Childhood papers,
1889-1914
Arranged chronologically by type.This subseries contains correspondence to and from Hilda Chase Foster while
at Miss Low and Miss Heywood School in Stamford, Conn., as well as from family
vacations. Invitations and announcements pertain to the 1910-1911 debutant
teas, ball, and coming out of Hilda Chase Foster and her peers. A personal
expense account book intermittently lists Hilda's expenses, primarily for
clothing, from 1895-1912. See also the Hilda Chase Foster fabric book,
1897-1899, which was removed to the MHS museum collection. This subseries
corresponds to chapters 3-7 of The Memoirs of Hilda
Chase Foster.
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| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 21-26 | | | Correspondence,
1889-1914 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 27-29 | | | Invitations and Announcements,
1910-1911 |
| Carton 1 | SH 14JS B | Folder 30 | | | Personal expense account book,
1895-1912 |
| | | | B. World War I papers,
1915-1919
Arranged chronologically by type.This subseries includes Hilda Chase Foster's correspondence over the course
of WWI, primarily with her mother Mabel and her brother Reginald Foster. In
1915 Reginald went to Europe to help in the war effort. Hilda followed,
arriving on Armistice Day, to work for the Red Cross. This subseries also
includes writings and poems regarding WWI given to Hilda by servicemen whom she
met, as well as by her brother Reginald.
The subseries also includes address books, calling cards, passports and
birth certificates, Red Cross vaccinations and certifications, and ephemera. It
corresponds to chapters 7-8 of The Memoirs of Hilda
Chase Foster.
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| Carton 2 | SH 14JT C | Folder 1-8 | | | Correspondence,
1915-1919 |
| Carton 2 | SH 14JT C | Folder 9 | | | Writings |
| Carton 2 | SH 14JT C | Folder 10 | | | Address books and calling cards |
| Carton 2 | SH 14JT C | Folder 11 | | | Passports and birth certificates,
1917-1919 |
| Carton 2 | SH 14JT C | Folder 12 | | | Red Cross vaccinations and certifications,
1915-1919 |
| Carton 2 | SH 14JT C | Folder 13 | | | Ephemera |
| | | | C. 1920's & 1930's papers,
1921-1937
Arranged chronologically by type.After World War I, Hilda returned to live with her family in Charles River
(Needham), Mass. Personal correspondence from 1921-1926 include letters
exchanged with family members, and in 1922, a correspondence with William
"Wanton" Dunnell to whom Hilda was briefly engaged that year. This time period
also marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship and correspondence with
Dunnell's mother. Mrs. W.W. Dunnell. Condolences on the passing of her mother
Mabel Hill Foster comprise much of the correspondence from 1925.
The correspondence also pertains to Hilda's overseas travels. On a trip to
Westmeath, Ireland in the early 1930's she took part in fox hunting, and in
England, on May 11th, 1932, she was presented at Court at Buckingham Palace. In
1934-1936 she traveled to India, other parts of Asia, and Australia. The
correspondence from this time is mainly to her friend Tony Bryan, whom she met
in her European travels, and her family.
This subseries also includes two travel notebooks, condolence calling cards,
bills and receipts, newspaper clippings, a passport and permits, printed
material, and various ephemera. The travel notebooks, which span the 1930s and
the 1950s, are organized roughly alphabetically and contain addresses of places
Hilda Chase Foster stayed and people she met, itineraries, notes, recipes, etc.
This subseries corresponds to chapters 9-11 in The
Memoirs of Hilda Chase Foster.
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| Carton 2 | SH 14JT C | Folder 14-23 | | | Correspondence,
1921-1933 |
| Carton 2 | SH 14JT C | Folder 24-31 | | | "Around the World" correspondence,
1934-1936 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 1 | | | Travel notebook A-H,
1930s-1950s |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 2 | | | Loose papers removed from travel notebook A-H |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 3 | | | Travel notebook I-Z,
1930s-1950s |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 4 | | | Loose papers removed from travel notebook I-Z |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 5 | | | Condolence calling cards,
Nov. 1925 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 6 | | | Bills and receipts,
1929-1937 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 7 | | | Newspaper clippings,
1924-1938 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 8 | | | Passport and permits,
1928-1934 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 9 | | | Printed material,
1929-1936 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 10 | | | Ephemera |
| | | | D. World War II papers,
1937-1946
Arranged chronologically by type.Hilda returned to Europe during World War II and worked as an ambulance
driver in Cambridge, England. When she returned to the United States in 1942
she moved to Boston and worked at the Hood Rubber Company in Watertown, Mass.,
and at the Commercial Filters Corporation in Boston.
This subseries includes correspondence with her family and friends,
newspaper clippings, UK and US government information regarding air raid
precautions, etc., passports and certifications, ration materials, and
ephemera. This subseries corresponds to chapters 12 -13 of
The Memoirs of Hilda Chase Foster.
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| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 11-18 | | | Correspondence,
1937-1946 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 19 | | | Business correspondence,
1939-1945 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 20 | | | Financial papers, checks,
1941-1945 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 21 | | | Newspaper clippings,
1940-1945 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 22 | | | Government publications and forms,
1940-1945 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 23 | | | Passports and certifications,
1940-1945 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 24 | | | Ration materials,
ca. 1941 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 25 | | | Diary/Calendar,
1941 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 26 | | | Printed material,
1939-1944 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 27 | | | Ephemera |
| | | | E.
1946-1956
Arranged chronologically by type.This subseries contains correspondence, a passport, and miscellaneous papers
from the period between World War II and Hilda Chase Foster's move to Vermont
and corresponds to chapter 13 of The Memoirs of Hilda
Chase Foster. See also travel notebooks in the 1920s and 1930s
papers.
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| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 28 | | | Correspondence,
1946-1956 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 29 | | | Passport,
1948 |
| Carton 3 | SH 14JU D | Folder 30 | | | Miscellaneous |
| | | | F. Norwich, Vermont,
1957-1974
Arranged chronologically by type.Hilda lived in Norwich, Vermont, from 1957 till her death in 1974. Papers
from that period include correspondence, papers regarding her father Charles
Henry Wheelwright Foster's estate, living will forms, newspaper clippings, an
autobiography of G.H. Donald, and membership cards and certificates. This
subseries corresponds to chapters 13-14 of The Memoirs
of Hilda Chase Foster.
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| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 1-2 | | | Correspondence,
1957-1974 |
| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 3-6 | | | Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster estate papers,
1955-1963 |
| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 7 | | | Living will forms,
1970-1971 |
| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 8 | | | Newspaper clippings,
ca. 1957-1973 |
| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 9 | | | Autobiography pamphlet of G.H. Donald |
| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 10 | | | Membership cards and certificates,
1958-1967 |
| | | | G. Miscellaneous correspondence and papers
Arranged by type.This subseries contains undated correspondence not organized by period by
Anne Farlow Morris, as well as miscellaneous calling cards, recipes, lists,
tracings, and ephemera.
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| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 11-12 | | | Correspondence |
| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 13 | | | Calling cards |
| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 14 | | | Recipes and household lists |
| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 15 | | | Tracings |
| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 16 | | | Ephemera |
| | | | H. Recordings,
1935-1973
Arranged chronologically by type.This subseries contains one "voice record," eight 1/4" reel to reel audio
tapes, and three audio cassette tapes. The "voice record" is a novelty greeting
recorded and sent to Hilda Chase Foster in 1935. The reel to reel audio tapes
and cassettes, 1969-1973, include reminiscences and anecdotes about her
childhood and travels.
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| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 17 | | | "Voice record,"
29 Nov. 1935 |
| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 18-21 | | | 1/4" tape reels,
1969-1970 |
| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 22 | | | Cassettes,
ca. 1973 |
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| Carton 4 | SH 14JV E | Folder 23-28 | III. Anne Farlow Morris notes,
ca. 1977-1979
This series contains various notes generated by Morris in the course of
researching the memoir. The series includes timelines of activities throughout
the lives of Hilda and C.H.W. Foster, transcriptions of C.H.W. Foster diary
entries, note cards containing pertinent dates and events, brief biographies of
some family members and acquaintances, lists of C.H.W. Foster's yachts,
transcriptions of interviews with Hilda and her siblings in their later years,
and photocopied newspaper articles.
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Hilda Chase Foster papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in
ABIGAIL,
the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers
desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should
search the catalog using these headings.
| | |
| Persons: |
| | Dunnell, W.W., Mrs. |
| | Foster, Charles Henry
Wheelwright, 1859-1955. |
| | Foster, Mabel Chase Hill,
1864-1925. |
| | Foster, Reginald Candler,
1889-1945. |
| | Foster family. |
| | Morris, Anne Farlow. |
| | |
| Subjects: |
| | Asia--Description and
travel. |
| | Australia--Description and
travel. |
| | England--Description and
travel--1901-1945. |
| | Estates (Law). |
| | Family history--1850-1899 |
| | Family history--1900-1949.
|
| | Family
history--1950-1999. |
| | Fox hunting--Ireland. |
| | India--Description and travel.
|
| | Ireland--Description and travel.
|
| | Passports--United States. |
| | Recipes. |
| | Voyages and travels. |
| | Weddings. |
| | Women and war. |
| | Women travelers. |
| | World War,
1914-1918--Participation, Female. |
| | World War, 1914-1918--War work--Red
Cross. |
| | World War, 1914-1918--Women.
|
| | World War, 1939-1945--War
work. |
| | World War, 1939-1945--Women.
|
| | |
| Titles: |
| | The memoirs of
Hilda Chase Foster, 1891-1974 [manuscript notes]. |
Printed Material
The following printed materials have been removed from the collection for
placement and cataloging with the Massachusetts Historical Society printed
materials.
Crumbaker, Leslie G. The Baker Estate or Ridge
Hill Farms of Needham. Needham: Needham Historical Society,
1975.
Forty-Fifth Annual Catalogue of the Teachers and
Pupils of Chauncy-Hall School. Boston: David Clapp & Son,
1873.
Map of Boston Common with Surrounding Streets
and Adjacent Parts of Beacon Hill. Designed by Griswold Tyng. Boston:
Little, Brown and Co. (ca. 1940s?)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Regulations and Suggestions for the Trip to Philadelphia, June
8, 1876.
Morris, Anne Farlow. The Memoirs of Hilda Chase
Foster. Privately printed, 1982.
The Overseas War Record of the Winsor School,
1914-1919.
Young, Sarah Abby. Will. Mar. 7, 1888,
Codicil Oct. 23, 1889.
Photographs
Photographs from this collection have been removed to the Hilda Chase Foster
photographs, 1879-1981. Photo. Coll. 143.
Artifacts
The following artifacts were removed from the collection for storage and
cataloging with the Massachusetts Historical Society museum collection.
Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster. Wallet.
Hida Chase Foster. Fabric book, 1897-1901.
"Ration Books" leather pouch.
World War II Blitz earplug.
Army-Navy Production Award pin.
1 United Kingdom Half-Penny, 1919.
2 US steel pennies, 1943.
4 OPA blue points.
6 lace clover pattern textiles.
2 handkerchiefs with an embroidered "H".
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