Sir Augustus John Foster
A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress
Prepared by Bradley E. Gernand and Patrick Kerwin
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Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
2002
Contact information:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division,
2008
Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms008047
Title: Sir Augustus John Foster
Papers
Span Dates: 1794-1844 ID No.: MSS21139 Creator:
Foster, Augustus John,
Sir, 1780-1848 Extent: 77
volumes;
14 containers;
7 linear feet
Language: Collection material in
English
Repository:
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress,
Washington, D.C. Abstract: British minister to the
United States. Diaries, correspondence, and notes concerning Foster's
assignment as a British diplomat to Washington, D.C., prior to the War of 1812,
Naples (capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies), and Turin (capital of the
Kingdom of Sardinia).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person
or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein.
Personal Names Foster
family--Correspondence. Foster,
Augustus John, Sir, 1780-1848.
Locations Great
Britain--Foreign relations--Italy--Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Great
Britain--Foreign relations--Italy--Sardinia. Great
Britain--Foreign relations--United States. Kingdom of
the Two Sicilies--Foreign relations--Great Britain. Sardinia
(Italy)--Foreign relations--Great Britain. United
States--Description and travel. United
States--Foreign relations--Great Britain.
Occupations Diplomats--Great
Britain.
Provenance: The papers of Sir Augustus John Foster, British minister to the
United States and Privy Councillor, were purchased by the Library of Congress
in 1929. An additional item was purchased in 1933.
Processing History:Descriptions of the Foster Papers appear in Report of the Librarian of Congress for the Fiscal Year Ending
June 30, 1934, p. 35, and in Library of Congress
Information Bulletin, vol. 10, no. 46 (Nov. 13, 1951)..
Copyright Status:It is the researcher’s responsibility to determine requirements of
domestic copyright laws and international treaties and conventions.
Preferred Citation:Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Sir Augustus John Foster Papers,
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Date |
Event |
1780, Dec. 1 |
Born, Ireland [?] |
circa 1802-1804 |
Secretary to British legation, Naples, Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies (Italy)
|
1805-1807 |
Secretary to British legation to the United States |
1808-1810 |
British chargé d’affaires, Stockholm, Sweden |
1811-1812 |
Great Britain’s minister plenipotentiary to the United
States
|
1812 |
Returned to Great Britain; elected member of Parliament for
Cockermouth, England
|
1814-1824 |
British minister plenipotentiary, Copenhagen, Denmark |
1815 |
Married Albinia Jane Hobart |
1822 |
Became member of Privy Council, London, England |
1824-1840 |
British minister plenipotentiary to Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia
(Italy)
|
1825 |
Knighted by King George IV |
1831 |
Named Baron of Clyde Court, Ardee, County Louth,
Ireland
|
1840 |
Retired from diplomatic service and began writing “Notes on
the United States...”
|
1848, Aug. 1 |
Committed suicide at Branksea Castle, near Poole,
England
|
The papers of Sir Augustus John Foster (1780-1848) span the years
1794-1844. The papers are divided into three series:
Correspondence,
Diaries,
and a narrative of observations by Foster entitled
“Notes on the
United States of America.” Foster was the United Kingdom’s minister to
the United States when war with England was declared in 1812.
The
Correspondence series consists of letters from Foster to
his mother, later wife of the fifth Duke of Derbyshire, and her replies,
1798-1826, as well as miscellaneous correspondence dated 1794-1795.
The
Diaries are
recorded for the years 1798, 1806, 1809, 1811-1816, 1818, and 1825-1844. Some
volumes contain years in addition to those marked on the covers. The volume for
1806 concerns Foster’s service in Washington as secretary to the British
legation to the United States. Other volumes concern his assignment as
secretary to the British legation to Naples, capital of the Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies, and as British minister to the Savoy court at Turin, capital of the
Kingdom of Sardinia (both in present-day Italy).
Also included is a five-volume draft entitled,
“Notes on the
United States of America,” a narrative of Foster's observations of this
country. This set of notes is a later version of a draft held by the Huntington
Library in San Marino, California. It was found in the 1930s by Foster’s
descendants in a cupboard in the family home in Northern Ireland. Portions of
these papers have been transcribed and published.
This collection is arranged in three series:
Container |
Series |
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BOX 1-8
|
|
|
Incoming and outgoing correspondence. |
|
Arranged chronologically. |
|
BOX 9-13
|
|
|
Diaries. |
|
Arranged chronologically. |
|
BOX 14
|
|
|
Narrative of Foster’s observations in the United States. |
|
Arranged chronologically. |
Container |
Contents |
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BOX 1-8
|
Correspondence,
1794-1826
|
|
Incoming and outgoing correspondence. |
|
Arranged chronologically. |
|
BOX 1
|
1794, Aug. 27-1802, June 29
|
|
BOX 2
|
1802, July 5-1806, Oct. 28
|
|
BOX 3
|
1806, Oct. 31-1814, May 1
|
|
BOX 4
|
1814, May 3-1816, Sept. 9
|
|
BOX 5
|
1816, Sept. 17-1820, June 28
|
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BOX 6
|
1820, July 3-1821, Dec. 9
|
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BOX 7
|
1821, Dec. 12-1823, June 24
|
|
BOX 8
|
1823, July 5-1826, Aug. 31, n.d.
|
|
BOX 9-13
|
Diaries,
1798-1844
|
|
Diaries. |
|
Arranged chronologically. |
|
BOX 9
|
1798
|
|
BOX 9
|
1806, 1809, 1811-1812, 1818, 1829
|
|
BOX 9
|
1812-1814, 1816
|
|
BOX 9
|
1815
|
|
BOX 9
|
1825-1827
|
|
(4
folders)
|
|
BOX 10
|
1828-1831
|
|
(6
folders)
|
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BOX 11
|
1832-1834
|
|
(6
folders)
|
|
BOX 12
|
1835-1837
|
|
(7
folders)
|
|
BOX 13
|
1838-1844
|
|
(6
folders)
|
|
BOX 14
|
“Notes on the United
States of America,”
1805-1812
|
|
Narrative of Foster’s observations in the United States. |
|
Arranged chronologically. |
|
BOX 14
|
Vols. I-V,
1805-1812
|
|
(5
folders)
|
|