The American Fosters

aunt minverva collection
The Foster Family by W.T. Foster cont.

THE AMERICAN FOSTERS
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Tradition in our family has been general and positive that three brothers came to this country at an early day, before the Revolution from near Londonderry, Ulster, Ieland and settled in southeastern Pennsylvania. We do not know the exact date but certainly between 1720 and 1730. I believe that tradition to be true. I have found that family and tribal traditions are more reliable than written history. One of those three brothers was my surely my great-great-grandfather. All the traditions, facts, circumstances, family names point to John, Thomas, and Alexander, as the traditional three brothers. Thomas landed at Philadelphia in 1722. Bolton's Scotch-Irish Pioneer says that John Foster of Ulster came to America from near Londonderry. We know that Alexander came from near Londonderry. All these came between 1700 and 1728 and these are the three traditional brothers of our family.
Alexander Foster came from near Londonderry, Ulster Province, Ireland and settled in Little Britain township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1728. He had three sons, born in Ireland that came with him and their names were James, William, and John. These three brothers served in the Revolutionary War and were at the final surrender of the British at Yorktown. AFter the Revolution James settled in Washington county, Pennsylvania,, was the father of Stephen C. and seven others. James died in 1814. They were the Pittsburg, Penn. Fosters and one of them became a great lawyer. Stephen C. was the noted composer, author of "Old Folks at Home", "Swanee River", and 200 others which are now considered classic and among the most popular of the old songs. William second son of Alexander, became one of the most noted Presbyterian ministers in Pennsylvania. Descendants of other members of that family-see letters in Scrap Book of the Foster Family-say that Jon Foster moved to North Carolina from Lancaster County, Penn., and they say, the Pittsburg Fosters, lost track of him and his family. Tradition says that my great-great-grandfathers name was John. I believe this to be true and that John Foster son of Alexander was my ancestor adn that his son William, my ancestor remained in Pa. when his father's family moved to N. Carolina. Alexander's three sons were the second three brothers; third set were sons of William, named Samuel, John and Thomas who moved to Kentucky; fourth set, sons of Thomas were John, Nelson, and Thomas who moved to Missouri. That Thomas was my father.
In 1886 my uncle, John Foster, who was born in Kentucky Oct. 9 1804 told me that my grand-father Thomas Foster was born on Muddy Creek York County, Pa. Nov. 12 1772. Of course my great-grandfather, William Foster lived there at that time and I believe he had never, up to that time, lived outside those two counties, Lancaster and York, Pa. In 1886 I made a visit to uncle John Foster, purposely to get from him an account of our ancestors. He further said, and I wrote it down at that time: "My grand-father William, who was your great-grand-father, died at the age of 101 and "Every tooth in his head was as sound as a silver dollar when he died." That quotation is a family tradition and is always repeated in exactly the same words. The tradition about the "Three brothers from near Londonderry landing in this country at an early day," is always repeated in the same words. That is the beauty of traditions: no one dare change them while historians are always seeking new expressions, more eloquent language, and thus histories become less reliable.
Uncle John further said:-"My mother, who was your grand-mother Rachel, was a Thomas of Welsh decent and was born and grew up in Philadelphia. When she was about grown a great small-pox epidemic spread over Philadelphia, killing many people. My mother, " said he, "nursed her father's family whle they ahd the small-pox and did not take the disease herself altho she had not been vaccinated." Uncle John also stated that great-grand-father William Foster was in Washington's army through out the Revolutionary war, that he was at the "Crossing of the Delaware", Battle of Trenton, Valley Forge, and the Surrender at Yorktown. He also mentioned the emigration of the Foster's westward, of the long delay on the Monogahela after crossing the Alleganies, the building of flatboats and the Old Stone Fort-to which they could retreat if attacked by the Indians-the floating down the Ohio River in the family flat boats, the dangers of the trip, the landing in Kentucky at the Falls of the Ohio, the long trip on pack horses,up a river in Kentucky, along a new road cut out by the pioneers who were with Daniel Boone and the final arrival at Cynthiana, Harrison Co., Ky., which was then 1783 a land office where the soldiers of the Revolution filed their claims for land. Uncle John was 42 years old when my great-grand-father William died. They had lived as neighbors much of that time and Uncle John had good opportunities to know the history and traditions of the family.
About the same history and traditions of our family were given to me in 1860, by aunt Nelly who was wife and second cousin of Uncle John, while I was boarding with them and teaching school in Harrison County, Mo. She said that my great-grand-father William was six feet, four inches in height and weighed 200 pounds, was grey-eyed, served thru the Revolution in Washington's army, never missed a roll call, was one of the tall men who managed the ropes, across streams, used to aid short soldiers and those who could not swim, in crossing. I gathered from her that William was entirely uneducated. Probably that was the reason he served nearly seven years as a private. Uneducated people miss many opportunities. Since leaving the highlands of Asia our family has gone up and down many times and I believe they will again go to the top. From 1728-1860,our family had poor school facilities.
In all her talk to me about my great-grand-father, William Foster, aunt Nelly, in 1860, always called him Uncle William and she said that was the way her father's family always spoke of him. Her account of migrating to Kentucky differed very little from the account given me by uncle John. She said that her people came from southwest Virginia and northwest North Carolina, near where the two states join; that they were with a company of 300 who had all pack horses and no wagons.They drove their cattle and sheep and packed their house-hold goods, provisions, chickens and farm implements on horses. SHe said they crossed the Allegany mountains through the Cumberland gap, their men were well armed and they stopped near Crab Orchard till they found homesteads, some near and some far away from Crab Orchard. She often talked about her brother John Foster, who lived with them in Missouri. She told me that her brother John was the father of Anderson, Lucineth,a nd Oliver, grand-chldren of uncle John and aunt Nelly.
Evidently aunt Nelly and her brother John were descendants of John the son of Alexander and brother of my great-grand-father William, descendants of John Foster who moved from LAncaster county, Pa. to North Carolina and whom his Pittsburg relatives lost track of. That accounts for aunt Nelly calling my great-grand-father "Uncle William". One of the Pittsburg Foster descendants says that this John Foster had a large family and I believe that the many Fosters we have found in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, whom we have not been able to connect as descendants of William, are the descendants of this North Carolina John, the brother of William.
The history of Kentucky mentions the arrival, in 1784 of that body of 300 immigrants that came through the Cumberland gap and says that they had 100 armed men to protect themselves from the Indians, who , the night before they arrived at Crab ORchard, killed six of the whites who were standing guard around the camp. OF course that 300 were all Americans who had been baptised in the blood spilled in the Revolution; of course they were all descendants of the Scotch-Irish and Norman-French and their heads of families all veterans of Washington's army and went to Kentucky to take homesteads for which they had land warrants from Virginia and North Carolina.
The Presbyterian Church history of Ulster, Ireland, says that William Foster was born near Londonderry near 1720 and that the family, a little later, moved to America. I believe him to have been the son of John, who was brother to Alexander and Thomas, who settled in Lancaster County, Pa., in 1722 and 1728. I also believe that William Foster the Revolutionary soldier of Culpepper, was son of either John or Thomas of these three. The record of the Culpepper William is so much like great-grand-father William that I had great difficulty in determining which was my ancestor. But I got a copy of his will and it settled that question.

to be cont.