Seth Cutter Foster
Seth Cutter Foster, president of the Stearns & Foster Company, with offices at Nos. 118-120 East Canal street, Cincinnati, may justly be regarded as one of the remarkable business men of the city. Although he has passed the eighty-eighth anniversary of his birth he is to be found at his office almost every working day and directs the affairs of the great establishment with the ease and facility of a man many years his junior. He was born on a farm in Boone county, Kentucky, October 6, 1823, a son of Samuel Foster, who was born in England and emigrated to America in his young manhood. After living for a short time in Boston he came to Cincinnati and was here married to Miss Susanna Cutter, a daughter of Seth Cutter. Mr. Cutter came from Charlestown, Massachusetts, to Cincinnati with his family about 1780 and here established his permanent home. In 1810 Mr. Foster, Sr., moved to Boone county, Kentucky, where he acquired a homestead, devoting his attention to agriculture.
At the age of sixteen years, in 1830 Seth C. Foster bade farewell to his parents and came to Cincinnati where he secured a position in the store of Albert and Henry Lewis. He began in a humble capacity, his duties consisting in sweeping out the store, dusting off the goods and running errands. He applied himself with such diligence, however, that in a short time he was advanced to a more responsible position and made his acquaintance of Dr. Ray, the famous educator and the compiler of Ray’s arithmetics which were familiar to American boys in generations past. Having been reared in the backwoods of Kentucky the aspiring dry-goods clerk had possessed very limited opportunities of education. Dr. Ray was a man of large heart and great sympathy for struggling youths and he suggested a night school, saying that he knew of a few boys who might take advantage of instruction under such circumstances and perhaps his young friend knew of others. The result was the establishment of a night school at the Woodward school building where Dr. Ray gave lessons in writing, arithmetic and bookkeeping. This was the first night school west of the Allegheny mountains and it was in successful operation for two years, many of the young men there being awakened to a realization of larger possibilities which changed the whole tenor of their lives. One of the most studious of the pupils was Seth C. Foster. He made rapid advancement and during the second year of the school learned bookkeeping and also was promoted to a more lucrative position in the store.
Later he was employed in an establishment on Main street and made the acquaintance of George S. Stearns who had been engaged in the manufacture of printers’ ink on Liberty street and being naturally mechanical, was experimenting at this time in the manufacture of cotton wadding and other cotton goods. As Mr. Foster was selling cotton goods over the counter, he suggested to Mr. Stearns that he could find a market for the goods the latter was manufacturing and, accordingly, they associated in the manufacture of cotton goods with a capital of three thousand dollars, giving employment to six persons. Their factory was located at the corner of Clay and Liberty streets and they continued at that place about fifteen years, when they moved to Lockland, still retaining offices in Cincinnati. The Stearns and Foster Company is now a large corporation with capital stock of one million, five hundred thousand dollars and one of the most completely appointed manufacturing plants in America, all of which has grown out of the modest beginning at Clay and Liberty streets. The company manufactures black and white wadding, cotton felt mattresses and batting and its products are sold in all the principal commercial centers of America. Two of Mr. Foster’s sons have been prominently connected with the company. These sons were twins. Joseph was secretary of the company at the time of his death, which occurred in 1906, and William R. has been actively connected with it ever since he began his business career. The officers are: Seth C. Foster, president; William S. Stearns, vice president; Edwin R. Stearns, treasurer; and William R. Foster, secretary.
Mr. Foster of this review has resided at Clifton for many years and is a member of the Calvary Episcopal church of that suburb. He is a true adherent to the republican party and cast his first vote for James C. Birney, abolition candidate for president; he holds membership in the Queen City Club, of which he is one of the charter members. From his boyhood active, alert and clear-headed in business affairs, he possessed the very desirable ability of recognizing opportunities and utilizing them to his own advantage and that of his associates. He was endowed by worthy parents with courage and perseverance and his success may largely be ascribed to these important elements. As a manufacturer his name is widely known and his methods have been such as to inspire the confidence and respect even of his competitors. It is with pleasure that his record is herewith presented of one who is eminently worthy of a place among the leading men of Hamilton county.
From Cincinnati, The Queen City, Volume III, by Rev. Charles Frederic Goss, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912