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Our Immigrant Ancestror
 UPDATE: August 25, 1998Dr. B.G. Foster now leans heavily toward the likelihood that Richard Foster, who arrived in America in 1635 aboard the Safety, is indeed the immigrant ancestor of our brach of the FOSTER family. This Richard was the son of Sir Robert Foster and Dorcas Ishum. I will update this document when I receive additional information. I will also add Richard's ancestry to the pages. Later information shows that this Richard Foster's passage was paid by Bartholomew Hoskins, ancient planter, and both him and Richard migrated to Lower Norfolk County, Virginia where both became prominent members of the social and political society. Capt. Ed Dittmer, retired naval officer, was the first to cast doubts on Richard being the immigrant and placed James Foster of Gloucester County as the most likely immigrant. This revelation was met with little interest by most researchers since it broke the tie with English royalty. However, there were several researchers, including Miriam Wood Dye of Memphis, Tennessee, Gerneva Foster Dennis of Abilene, and myself who required more than "tradition" to accept the 1635 immigrant as our immigrant. We offer the following information for your consideration. Richard Foster of the 1635 Safety was transported by Bartholomew Hoskins. We have documentation that Bartholomew married, in England, Dorcus Foster, widow with two small children. Bartholomew was called father by Richard. (March 2, 1639/40.) Conclusion: Richard of the 1635 Safety was the son of Dorcus Foster and an unknown father and the step-son of Bartholomew Hoskins. We must assume that it was this Richard Foster who migrated, with Bartholomew Hoskins, into Lower Norfolk County, Virginia. We do know that Bartholomew Hoskins and Mrs. Dorcus Foster had children and one was a daughter, Dorcus, who married a Richard Foster (from Hoskins family history) However, it could not have been the 1635 Richard Foster as she was only 5-6 years old when Richard called Bartholomew father and besides Dorcus was his half-sister. Conclusions: There were two Richard Fosters found in Lower Norfolk. The second Richard Foster could have been the Richard Foster who came to Virginia in late 1630s or early 1640s and was a lawyer. He has been reported as Richard Worster. He was the Clerk of the Court, etc. and signed his name as "ffoster" which looks like a "W." Now, both Fosters were literate as indicated by many documents. There was at least one other Richard Foster in Lower Norfolk. He was found on Bennetts Creek on March 25, 1653/4 and signed his name with an "X", i.e., he could neither read nor write. So, this separates him from the above two. It could be he who married Anne Jackson and fathered a child before marriage as shown in Lower Norfolk records. There was another Richard Foster (Deed Book B, Lower Norfolk Co., VA, p. 51) at an inquest concerning the death of Jacob Branshaw on April 11, 1647. This Richard was also illiterate and signed his name with a mark, "ff." He could have been the same illiterate Richard Foster (above) however his mark was "ff" and not "X" Conclusion: There were three and possibly four Richard Fosters in Lower Norfolk who are potentially our immigrant: (1) Richard Foster of the 1635 Safety, step-son of Bartholomew Hoskins, (2) Richard Foster, the lawyer, (3) Richard Foster, who may have married Anne Jackson whose mark was "X" and, (4) Richard Foster, the witness, whose mark was "ff." Now which, if any, was our immigrant? One of these Richard Foster married Dorcus Hoskins and received a land patent in 1651 for the transport of himself, his wife Dorcus, and daughter, Dorcus, Jr. He probably was Richard Foster, the lawyer, as Richard, the step-son was in England during this time (more on this later.) This Richard Foster was probably the Richard Foster who was a member of the House of Burgass and was called first Lt. and then Capt. and then Major Foster and followed his father-in-law, Bartholomew Hoskins, and brother-in-law, Richard Hoskins into North Carolina. We can eliminate him as our immigrant. Richard Foster, step-son of Bartholomew, was in England from 1648 to 1654. He could be our immigrant. Then there are the illiterate Richard Fosters. They are possible candidates, however, not likely as we must assume that our immigrant was literate as he came from a knighted father, Sir Robert Foster. There was a Richard Foster who received 200 acres of land in Mackjack Bay (later called Gloucester County, Virginia.) This land joined Col. Geroge Ludlow, who was in records of Jamestown and Lower Norfolk Counties. Now, Richard Foster, step-son of Bartholomew Hoskins was in England until 1654 and the land was patened on April 1, 1655. Could this have been the Richard Foster who patented that land? Could this have been the Richard Foster who married Sussan Garnett and became our immigrant ancestor? We have no proof or even an indication that it is so - the land or the marriage. So, considering all of these Richards, the step-son is the most likely, IF our ancestor immigrant was a Richard Foster. If we assume this, then all the records in Lower Norfolk that deals with Richard Foster must concern the others. If this be so, then what was our immigrant doing from 1635 to 1655 Even the doubters disagree which is the more likely Richard Foster, our immigrant: (1), (2), (3), or (4). I (Bill Foster) guess I am the most deviant of them all, along with Capt. Ed (I cannot speak for Miriam or Gerneva), as we do not believe that a Richard Foster was our immigrant. Our candidate is the James Foster who was living in Kingston Parish, Gloucester (now Matthews) County, Virginia and was a neighbor of John Garnett. The Fosters and the Garnetts were closely associated and intermarried several generations. Robert and John Foster, brothers and assumed siblings of Richard Foster, bought land in Essex County in 1692 close to a James Foster. Although circumstantial, it is compelling that Robert named his first sons, Robert and James and not Richard (Richard was his fourth child, after John). We present this information to you for your consideration and to elicit your comments. |
| Gerneva Foster Dennis 2625 N. 6th. Street Abilene, TX 79603 |
Miriam Woods Dye 1555 Poplar #2 Memphis, TN 38111-6038 |
Dr. B.G. Foster 2130 Santa Fe Trail Tyler, TX 75703-7659 TEHG75A@Prodigy.com |
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