Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster Diaries 1901-1955 Guide to the Collection The Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster diaries 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.

Table of Contents Collection Summary Collection Description Acquisition Information Restrictions on Access Other Formats Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms

Collection Summary

Collection Description

Fifty-five volumes of diaries kept by Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster (1859-1955) of Charles River Village in Needham, and Marblehead, Mass., 1901-55. Yearly diaries contain daily entries recording weather, health of family members, business (trusts and investment banking), social activities, travel to Cuba and Europe, yachting in Marblehead, polo in Dedham, Mass., billiards at the Union Club in Boston, musical interests, and work as board member of local institutions, including Massachusetts General Hospital. Foster also describes his house in Needham (Castle Farm), his summer house in Marblehead, and his hotel in Marblehead, "The Ship's Cabin."

Family members mentioned include his first wife Mabel Chase (Hill), second wife Mary F. (Speiden); and children Charles, Catherine, Reginald, Hilda, Edith, Caroline, Barbara, and John. Collection also includes photographs, clippings, and other ephemera, both pasted into the diaries and loose. Typed transcriptions of the diaries are available on CD in the Library. Included with the transcriptions are yearly "notes" which summarize each year's activities. See the Librarian for more information.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Charles H. W. Foster, Jan. 2000, Jan. 2004.

Restrictions on Access

The Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster diaries 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.

Other Formats

Transcriptions available in the MHS Reading Room, DF-007; paper copies also available in cartons 15-17.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Charles Henry Wheelwright Foster diaries, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

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.