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Note: Although Harriet's father is mentioned in one source as Nathan Munson and Urban's father is reported to be named Moses Munson, I believe these references are to the same individual for the following reasons: 1 - Harriet named one of her sons "Moses Nathan" Foster. If Moses wasn't her father, but rather an uncle, it's hard to imagine that she would name one of her children primarily after her uncle and secondarily after her father. 2 - I believe that Moses' own father's name was Moses. If so, it wouldn't be unusual to be known by another name, such as one's middle name. 3 - Harriet and her sister Louisa lived with or next door to Urban at various times in their lives, in particular, when they were widowed, suggesting that they were siblings with Urban. Additionally, in 1870, they were all enumerated consecutively with Moses Munson. There are 3 additional Munson households enumerated in Castoria Township for the 1860 Census, Joel (48), Peter (46), and Charles(40), all reported as being born in Maine, and all of whom I believe to be Moses' younger brothers. At this time, Charles also had a son, age 3, named William. This is possibly the witness recorded for George Bain Mathews and Ida Elizabeth Glenn's wedding 20 years later, a "Wm. Munson" . The other witness was a "M.J. Munson" or possibly a "Mr. J. Munson" (Joel?). Or perhaps it was Ida's uncle, U. J. Munson. What I've been able to learn about Moses comes from biographies of his son Urban, or of his grandson, Earl Powers Foster. From the former, we learn that Moses Munson came to California from Maine with his son Urban via the Nicaragua route in the early 1850's. After mining for a while at Jamestown, he acquired together with his son large land holdings near Atlanta on which they raised grain and livestock. Quoting from the History of San Joaquin County: "In those pioneer days, the country was wild and unsettled, there were no fences and their stock ran over the hills and valleys unobstructed. Their first house was built of logs hewn from the virgin forests and constructed with great difficulty." From another biography of U.J. Munson, we learn that their migration to California came after a stay in Minnesota, where they lived between 1850 and 1853, and that they traveled to California via the Isthmus route. This seems very plausible since we know that his uncle and wife's father, Stephen Munson, also moved to Minnesota. This biography, from "The History of San Joaquin County California", (a different one published by Thompson and West, Oakland, California 1879), reports that U.J. and therefore, probably his father Moses as well, worked in the Calaveras mines for one year, moved to and resided in Tuolomne Co until 1857, and thereafter purchased land in San Joaquin county, (where Atlanta is located). From one biography of Earl Powers Foster, "History of Tulare and Kings counties, California", we learn that his mother, Hattie Munson, came to the coast in her girlhood with her father Nathan Munson. This information is confirmed in another biography for this individual appearing in the "History of the State of California and biographical record of the San Joaquin Valley, California".
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