John Harris Forster Papers 1835-1891

ArchivalResource

John Harris Forster Papers, 1835-1891

John Harris Forster Papers 1835-1891

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-85191?rgn=main;view=text

John Harris Forster was a geologist, engineer, surveyor, farmer, and chronicler of life in the Americas in the mid-19th century. As he traveled about North and South America, surveying boundaries, inspecting copper mines, mining gold with the California Forty-Niners, or raising hogs, Forster wrote of his experiences in his journals and used them and his acute memory to describe his travels to family, friends, and an interested public. His journals, correspondence, and speeches are a rich source of social history and geographical and architectural information on life in the areas in which he traveled, including the Great Lakes (Michigan and Wisconsin), Far West, and Central and South America. Forster's papers are of considerable interest for their detailed descriptions of the culture and lifestyle of the native populations he encountered, the terrain and climate of the areas in which he camped and surveyed, and the hardships of life in unsettled or recently settled areas.

0.7 linear ft.

eng,

Bentley Historical Library