Our Ancestors. Norman-French. In England.

aunt minerva collection
The Foster Family by W.T. Foster, cont.



********OUR ANCESTORS. NORMAN-FRENCH. IN ENGLAND.*******

We are now at the parting where our ancestors left continental Europe and migrated to England. Baldwin IV did not serve out his time as Count of Flanders but went to England as the head general in the Armies of William the Conquerer. The Baldwin Fosters in Europe have many descendants in Europe now, particularly in France, Germany, Belgium, and Holland. They continued to be Counts of Flanders for a long time. They were prominent in the Crusades to the Holy-Land and two of them were the Kings of Palestine from 1100 to 1162. Two others of the family were Emperorsof the Easter Roman Empire from 1204 to 1261. They were the last Emperors of the Empire and were conquered by the Turks.
Baldwin IV, the Great Forester, became the head general in the armies of William, Duke of Normandy, early in 1066 and his son Richard Forester was on his staff. The conditions were rather strange and the changes rapid. Baldwin IV had defeated France, including the Duke of Normandy, which was in France and a little later this Baldwin IV, being a great general, became the head of the armies of William who had become Duke of Normandy. They went over to England, conquered that country in a single engagement, the great battle of Fastings, and William, the Duke of Normandy, became William the Conquerer, the first Norman King of England. William was the son of Rolfe, a Norway Chief, who conquered a large part of northern France and organized Normandy.
The family of Baldwin IV, The Great Forester, was one of the most noted of the world's productions. His oldest son succeeded him as Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and Great Forester and remained in Flander. His second son, Count of Hainault became Baldwin VI and Great Forester. He also remained in Flanders. They were not our ancestors but relatives. Matilda, usually called Maud, the third child of Baldwin IV, Great Forester, and our ancestor, married William the Conquerer while he was Duke of Normandy, therefore all his descendants are our relatives. Fourth hier of Bladwin IV was Sir Richard Forester who was on his father's stafrf in the conquering of England. He was called Forresterius, the latin for Forester,. Of him the Pierce Genealogy of the American Fosters, page 12, says:-"Sir Richard and his father, Baldwin IV, past over to England with his brother-in-law, William the Conquerer and received the honors of knighthood after the decisive battle of Hastings. Sir Richard, then being in his 16th year, was the ancestor of the Foresters of Etherstone and Bamboro castles in Northumberland, England, the Blake Foresters of Ashfield and Knockmoy Abbey at Galway, west coast of Ireland, and Inchorey castle in county Clare, west coast of Ireland." Our ancestors were of Etherstone and Bamboro castles.
Pierce's genealogy of the Fosters further says:-"The Forrester family were the principal chieftains in Northumberland and were allied by marriage with all the prominent northern families; the Featherstones, Grays, Chillinghams, the Fenwicks, the Lord Barons of Hilton, the Barons of Mitford; from whom the Earle of Redesdale; the Collingwoods of Dislington, the Radcliffs, Earles of Deventwater, the Hagerstones the Russells from the Duke of Bedford, the Selby's, Lords Crewe, Hilton, Wharton and Ogle; the Carnabys, Crasters, Ridleys, Greys, Coles, Oders and many others. Many of the Foster family were distinguished for their deeds of chivalry and war-like actions including the siege of Acre, in the Holy Land.
In the Crusade War, King Richard of England, had commanad of the armies at Acre, in Palestine. His right and left wings had been defeated and he was in the immediate command of the center division which was so hard pressed that King Richard was surrounded by the Saracens and about to be captured when Sir John Forster, at the head of a body of Spearsmen, so furiously attacked the Saracens that they broke and fled. King Richard seeing the tide of battle turning in his favor cut down the Saracen leader and gained a great victory. For his bravery and timely aid Sir John was decorated with highest honors, made Lord Commander of Bambrough castle and became one of the most noted men of England. His prominence accounts for the great number of Johns in the Foster family. The namae William is next in number because of the great prominence of the English King, the Norman-French William the Conquerer.
The descendants of William the Conquerer, first Norman King of England were Robert, Duke of Normandy; Richard, killed by a stag; William Rufus, second Norman King of England, known as William II; Henry, the third Norman King of England, known as Henry, Cecilia who became Aboess to the Holy Trinity of Caen; constantia, married Alan Fergant, Earl of Brittany; Alice contracted to Harold, King of England, whom William the Conquerer defeated at Hastings; Adelia married Stephen, Earl of Blois; Agatha contracted to marry Alphonzo, King of Galicia, but died before the wedding day; Gundred, married William de Warren, Earl of Surrey. The descendants of those ten children, including three Kings and three Queens of England are our cousins.
By the accession of Sir John Forster to Bamborough castle, our ancestral line changed from the Etherstone Forsters to their cousins and our ancestors the Bamborough Forsters. In 1896 Mrs Sophia Foster Symes, a descendant of the Bamborourgh Forsters, visited that great ancient castle and she gives a long account fo that visit in the Pierce genealogy of Fosters at page 42. I quote from it as follows:-