Although titled the Pattengill family papers, this accumulation is also the records of the Foster, Sharpsteen, and Woodward families. The historian of the family was undoubtedly Theodore G. Foster and his wife Margaret Foster (née Pattengill). Through these donors, the library received different family collections that have been separately cataloged, although they obviously contain inter-related materials. These other collections, also housed at the Bentley Historical Library are Theodore Foster papers (1835-1862); Henry R. Pattengill papers (1861-1939); and the Margaret Pattengill Foster papers (1903-1961).
This grouping of family materials is actually more about the Foster line of the family than Pattengill or Sharpsteen. The papers have been arranged by name of family: Foster, Pattengill, and Sharpsteen, with an additional series of various family members and miscellaneous. Within each family, the materials have been maintained as arranged by the donor into separate files for individual family members. Of particular interest are the papers of Seymour Foster who was postmaster of Lansing and active in preserving the memory of his brother Charles T. Foster who was killed during the Civil War. The Grand Army of the Republic named one of its veterans post in Charles T. Foster's name. Also included is a volume of transcribed correspondence of Theodore Pattengill Foster, describing his time as a soldier during World War II.
The collection is also of value for the genealogical research materials accumulated on the Foster, Pattengill, Springsteen, and Woodward families.
The Foster family members were residents of Ann Arbor and Lansing, Michigan. Theodore R. Foster was the first United States Senator from Vermont. The family later moved to Ann Arbor, then Scio Township in Washtenaw County, Michigan. One of the sons Theodore Foster was editor of an abolition newspaper. In 1856, this Theodore Foster moved to Lansing, Michigan when he was appointed the superintendent of the Boys' Vocational School. Two of his sons served in the Civil War, Charles T. Foster who was killed in 1862, and Seymour Foster who served in Company B, Second United States Sharpshooters. After the war, Seymour Foster returned to Lansing, became interested in real estate and Republican Party politics. He was elected city clerk then city treasurer. In 1893, he was elected a member of the legislature. He served as Lansing postmaster from 1889 to 1893 and from 1897 to 1914. His wife was Mary Woodward. Their son was Theodore G. Foster, a Lansing realtor, but who as a hobbyist became interested in local history and the genealogy of his family.
The Foster family line merged with the Pattengill line in 1912 with the marriage of Theodore G. Foster and Margaret Irene Pattengill. Margaret Irene Pattengill was the daughter of Henry R. Pattengill. His wife was Elizabeth Sharpsteen.
Vincent R. Pattengill, son of Henry R. Pattengill, was also a Lansing realtor in partnership with his brother-in-law Theodore G. Foster.
