Readers Comments and Queries
I hope you have found this ramble through Foster history informative
and interesting and would invite any comments or queries you may have.
Please email me if you have your own Foster family history to
relate, if you have genealogical inquiries that can be pursued here, or
if there are any particular Foster stories that you would like to
pass on. We will post them all here.
Colin Shelley
Comments and Queries
- Foster Brothers in Australia
- Fosters from England to Tasmania
- Fosters from Maryland to Indiana
- Forsters of Germany and Pennsylvania
- Lincolnshire Foster
- A Painting by Vere Foster
- Fosters in Arkansas
- Fosters in North Louisiana
- Foster Loyalists Fleeing to Canada
- Fosters in Cumberland
- African American Fosters
- Richard Foster of Virginia
- Knight Forster in Bamburgh?
- Theodosia Foster in Australia?
- Thomas Foster from Cumberland
- The Story of Arthur Foster
25 February, 2010.
Foster Brothers in Australia
My great
great grandma Martha married a Joseph
Foster after her first husband, Mark Ogley, died. He
and two of his brothers went to Australia (New
South Wales) in about 1800 (?). He died
there
in 1884. As far as I know brothers James
and William lived and stayed there. If
anyone knows any information regarding James, William, or Joseph, it
would be
of great interest to myself.
One more
bit of information is that they sailed from England to Australia on a
ship called
the March of Londonderry under assisted passage.
Thanks
John Edward Holroyd (spikeandstanthedogs@hotmail.com)
11
February, 2010.
Fosters from England to Tasmania
I
have searched each year for Fredrick Foster, married in the 1820’s to
Eliza
Watson, born 1804 in England who was my ggg grandma.
Fredrick’s daughter was Sarah Amelia Madelina
Foster, born 1828, who died in Tasmania.
Do you have any Fosters that fit this family?
Mrs. Gallaghan ((pattymg43@yahoo.com)
30 January, 2010.
Fosters from Maryland to Indiana
Looking
for information on a
Jessey Foster that married a Nancey Lowry. I have no idea where
Jessey
was born but Nancy was born in Westmoreland County (now Indiana County)
Pennsylvania in 1767. Their son, Thomas Jacob Foster, was born in
Maryland
in 1783-86. Thomas Jacob Foster married Margaret Schough (she was
born in
Maryland). He and his wife moved to Dearborn County, Indiana
between 1820
and 1830. 1820 shows them living in Fayette County, PA. Their
children were born in Fayette County, PA.
Lynn Foster Wilson (rewilson@ktis.net)
10 January, 2010.
Forsters of Germany and Pennsylvania
Please
be patient with me, while I share a couple stories with you and
you can see what you think.
My mother
was Reva Ruth Forster (1937 - 1975). She
was born in Wisconsin. My mother was a
parapsychologist - a much renowned psychic – which is very interesting
considering all the witch accusation and so forth that you have
gathered. Her father Raymond Charles
Forster (1903
-1988) was born in Oil City, Penn. His
father was Charles A Forster (1879 – 1908).
And his father was Henry Forster or Foster (he seems to have
spelled it
both ways) and he was reportedly born in Hamburg, Germany in 1848, but
died in
the US in 1919.
The
family story on the
Forsters goes like this (I am coping this word for word from a letter
my grandmother,
married to Ray, wrote to my mother in the 1960’s):
“In the
early 1700’s one man of Forster was a
captain in the English and Irish army and had a most prominent place
but turned
traitor under pressure when he was supposed to take command of a
certain battle
situation. Can’t remember whether he was stripped or branded. Anyhow he landed in Northern Germany and began
persuing a family of his own on German soil.”
Humm?
1.
Your
website stories made me think this could be a
reference to the Jacobite Forster, except he went to France not
Germany.
Of course, family stories can be inaccurate to say the least and France
is not
far from Germany, so maybe the family moved on.
2.
I
vaguely remember another
family story, I think it was the Forster branch as well, that said that
the
Forster who went to Germany had a wife and family in
Ireland/England.
That he went to Germany and got a new wife and had children and then
went on to
America….but I’m fuzzy on that.
3.
This
whole side of my family is basically deceased,
so there is no one to ask. I do have pictures of each of the
members I
mentioned in the first paragraph and lots of stories about each.
4.
Does any
of this seem to match up to anything you
have come across?
Thank
you for your time and patience with this rambling
letter.
Take good care,
Robin Ziebert (rziebert@wowway.com)
26
October,
2009. Lincolnshire Foster
My earliest Foster ancestor was Thomas
Foster, born about 1774 in Careby Lincolnshire I think (though on some
census
he is stated in Stamford in Lincolnshire). He married Elizabeth
Clear in 1795 in
Collyweston (which was then in Northamptonshire and is now in
Cambridgeshire).
Does anyone have any clues or knowledge of
this Thomas that might point me in the right direction of where to look
next
please?
With many thanks.
Sandra
(nee Foster) Lee (sandra.lee607@ntlworld.com)
19 May,
2009. A Painting by Vere Foster
I noted that you include Vere Foster among
your distinguished Foster relatives. I
have an oil painting signed by Vere Henry (Foster's middle name). I wondered if you have any information
on how Vere Foster signed his own work.
This piece, signed with an accent over the final e in Vere bears
considerable similarities to a watercolor by another artist included in
Vere
Foster's Simple Lessons in Watercolor.
It is quite a nice painting of the sea, almost impressionist in
execution.
I assume that Mr. Foster
himself was at least an amateur painter. Please let me know if you have
any
information on Foster as a painter.
Thanks
and best wishes,
Karin Ringheim (karin.ringheim@gmail.com)
30 January, 2009.
Fosters in Arkansas
My
father
knew very little about his family except they moved here to Arkansas
from
Missouri. My grandfather was John Foster who married Molly
Newton. She gave birth to twin boys, William Bryan and Virgil
Brown.
Along with other children, Molly died when the twins were eight years
old. Virgil Brown Foster was my father. He grew up in Maple Springs, AR. Both
he and his twin brother Bryan were
farmers. Bryan never married. But Brown married Josie Pruitt and they had
seven
children.
All the Fosters I have ever
known like the beer and whiskey. That is
about all I know about my family. I have
enjoyed reading on this site. I knew the
family originated from Ireland. I also
know my great grandfather was a John Foster.
Thanks
Montine Branscum (montandmark@sbcglobal.net)
11 January, 2009.
Fosters in North Louisiana
Great
website! It was a lot to
“swallow,” considering I had just linked my mother’s paternal
grandmother’s line
within the last two days. It explains so much.
My grandfather was a musical genius, but was demographically
challenged in North Louisiana. He started playing the piano
before he
could reach the pedals. He composed music and taught music in the
early
1900’s and was a local gospel musical legend. We have one cousin
that
inherited his incredible ability. And everyone has some musical
talent. We have all been strangely insightful.
My
mother always
suspected we were related to the past Governors. However, the
salve
stories are terrible. Mother never knew anything about her
grandmother. I believe we are connected to the Edward Powell
Foster - which would
explain why
I couldn’t find any documents on her family in the local court houses!
Where
does the talkative gene come in? Thank you for all of your
great research!
Charleen
Kennedy (cskennedy@suddenlink.net)
12
July, 2008. Foster Loyalists Fleeing to
Canada
Great
website! I wonder if you
know anything about Fosters in New York and Mass. that fled to the
Maritime
provinces of Canada when the revolution broke out? My
family has stories floating around about
the exodus of several branches of the family, particularly from
up-state NY and
the Hudson River valley, fleeing to New Brunswick where they set-up
shop as
mill workers and merchants in the growing timber trade for tall-ships
that was
emerging in St. John and much of Nova Scotia. There are even family
rumors that
the strip of land that Sing Sing prison is built on once belonged to
Fosters
but was commandeered when the American Revolution drove the loyalist
family off
the land.
Does
anyone know the connection? Also, what line and region of
European Fosters would this line of Fosters trace their lineage back to?
Brian Foster
Carleton University, Ottawa (bfoster@connect.carleton.ca)
24 June
2008. Fosters in Cumberland
I
am interested in finding more on this
Foster/Bell family which are my husband's ancestors.
John Foster and Mary
Bell married 19 November 1820 in Stanwix,
Cumberland
they produced:
Sarah, christened 16 January 1825 Stanwix
John,
christened 28 October 1827 Stanwix
Joseph, christened 7 July
1833 Stanwix
James and Jane, christened 5 March 1837 Stanwix
Joseph
Foster immigrated to Orangeville, Wellington, Ontario,
Canada, but I
have found nothing on the rest of this family. I
would appreciate it if you would also post
my query on your Foster website.
Fred
Heater (adfsparky@yahoo.com)
27 April,
2008. African American Fosters
My brother, N. Thomas Foster, was the first
African American appointed as City Attorney of Camden, New Jersey in
1980. He is a graduate of Rutgers Law School. Tom gave oral
argument
before the United States Supreme Court in November of 1983, shortly
before his
untimely death of a heart attack the following year.
In
an effort to develop our family genealogy,
I am looking for any or all information related to our grandfather,
Arnett or
Arnette Foster, (7-4-1883 or 1889 are the two
birthyears) of
Madison County, Florida's forebears. If you have any information,
(i.e. family
trees,) I would most definitely be interested!!
Thank
you so very much!
G. Ann
Foster (Gafoster719@aol.com)
5 April,
2008. Richard Foster of Virginia
Let me introduce myself. I'm
William L Foster, descendant of John
Foster who was the brother of Robert Foster who married Elizabeth
Garnett, both
the sons of Richard Foster.
You
mentioned the Richard Fosters of the 1600s whom my mentor Dr. Billy G
Foster wrote about.
I would like to point out that Richard, brother-in-law of Richard of
the
"Safety," is the Captain Foster who later was Major Foster who moved
from the south Norfolk area to the Albermarle Colony.
Richard of “The Safety” moved
to Mockjack Bay and it was he who married Susannah Garnett.
The
third Richard moved to
Maryland. Captain Foster was a lawyer and represented
his
younger brother- in-law who went back to England for five years in
college (probably
to study law). Dr. Bill Foster's narrative is confusing and must be
read over
and over again but no assumptions should be made.
My
Fosters ended up moving southeast from
Essex Co Va and into Rowan Co NC where they settled at the Forks of The
Yadkin
River in what is now Davie Co NC just below Winston
Salem. This is
where the wagons formed to move west to Kentucky and Tennessee or south
to Georgia
and Mississippi. Squire Boone and his
son Daniel lived there also.
Bill Foster (iwasa43fan@yahoo.com)
9
February, 2008.
Knight Forster at Bamburgh?
I have
been looking at your Foster family website and wonder if you have any
information on the monument of a knight at Bamburgh. I am
presuming he is
one of the Forster Lords of Bamburgh. I have been told that the
armour is
around 1350 which is too late for the original Lord, unless it was
erected
later in his memory. Or does it relate specifically to a later
Lord? Any information would be very much appreciated.
Thanks.
Jean (jeannemccreanor@yahoo.co.uk)
27
November, 2007. Theodosia Foster in
Australia?
Don and Carol Clement (thdon@aol.com)
25
November, 2007.
Thomas Foster from Cumberland
Your Foster website is very nice.
I especially like the page with stories. Thank you for posting it
to Cyndi's list to let people know about
the site. Could you please add my
information to your Queries page?
Thomas Foster/Forster was born about
1800 in Cumberland, a brick maker in
Carlisle, then a publican near Liverpool.
He married Ann Bouch 7 Jul.1821 in Warwick, Cumberland. They had
at least 8 children. Their daughter Jane (born 1831 in Stanwix,
Carlisle, Cumberland) is my great grandmother.
She married William Kirkby (a railway engine driver) 14 Sep.1851 in
Preston, Lancashire, and died 19 May.1916 in Bury, Lancashire.
Jane's grandson was my grandfather, William
Percy Hardman. He said his Fosters were
from Scotland, but I haven't found that connection yet.
Jane
Fraser
(janernfraser@hotmail.com)
Pueblo,Colorado
22 November, 2007.
The Story of Arthur Foster
One point that I wonder
about
is the story of Arthur, because as a child (1930's or early war years)
I knew a man named Arthur Foster who lived in a little house in
Shoebury not too far from us and who came to our house to do simple
jobs for my parents. I remember he used to clean the knives in
the kitchen (no stainless steel in those days!). He was
considered a little simple and spoke with a slightly 'funny' voice (a
cleft palate perhaps?). But he was always happy and smiley and
nice to us children and sometimes brought along little 78 records for
us to play, though I don't think my parents approved of his choice of
music!
I had no idea who he
was until I discovered the Elizabeth/Joseph Foster marriage just a few
years ago. The name Foster rang a bell and I looked for his
possible birth ib Brighton and obtained the birth certificate for
Arthur Harold Foster on 22 April 1901, just too late for the
census. His parents were Elizabeth and Joseph. It seems
certain that this is the same man that your Uncle Geoff
remembered. How and when did he come to Shoebury?
Geoff Mann (geoff.mann@btinternet.com)