Do you have old family group sheets (FGS) from other researchers? While those old handwritten documents are similar to today’s online trees, they may contain information from sources that are difficult to find.
As I was going thru my folder of FOSTER files yet to be scanned, I came across a group of such FGS for the family of Reverend John Foster. Buried in this pile of records are what appear to be transcriptions from books. A couple of those transcriptions are for my branch of the Foster family. Fortunately, there is enough of a handwritten note to identify the source.
all this is from Charles L. Foster’s ‘A History of Rev. John Foster and his descendants’
This was enough information to locate the book on WorldCat. Unfortunately, the book is not readily available.
Below is the transcription attached to the FGS for John Foster (1733/4-1800) and his wife Elizabeth Lewis.
John Foster was born about 1735 at or near Cumberland, Maryland. He married Elizabeth Lewis in 1758. She may have been born in Ireland. After her death in 1780 he married Sarah Cresap, who died in 1795. John died in 1800 in Pike County, Ohio, and is buried there.
John was a remarkable man and more than one volume would be necessary to completely tell his story. Originally thought to have-belonged to the Anglican Church, he took
up with Methodism when that faith first came to America from England. He became a Methodist minister about 1765. His sons Lewis and John also became Methodist ministers.
John also was a Revolutionary War soldier. In the “Archives of Maryland,” Vol. 18, page 47, there is recorded that John enlisted in Capt. Peter Mantz’ “Flying Camp” on
July l3, 1776. “Flying Camp” was a term taken from the French army, and signified that members of that group were equipped and trained to move quickly from one location to another. It follows that soldiers in such an organization must have been men of exceptional vigor and endurance.
John was owner of several tracts of land in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, one consisting of ninety-nine and one-half acres and the other, two hundred and forty acres. At the time of his death he also owned a 1,000-acre tract in Ross County, Ohio, lying along the Scioto River, and another tract of 300 acres in the Peepee Town Bottom. also on the Scioto River.
After the death of his second wife, Sarah, in 1795, John, with most of his family, went by flatboat from what is now Wheeling, West Virginia, to the point where the Scioto River flows into the Ohio. and then upstream to near where Waverly, Ohio, is located. Those who accompanied him on the trip were his daughter Cassandra and her husband, Thomas Chenoweth and their children; son Thomas and his wife Martha (Prather) and children; sons Benjamin, Joseph and Richard.
When Ohio and Kentucky were first settled in the early 1800’s many homesteaders floated down the Ohio River in flatboats. These boats were huge affairs, large enough to carry household goods, farm implements, and even livestock. Upon arrival at their destination, the boats were torn up and the lumber used in constructing cabins.
In the 1700’s whiskey was a commodity used by practically everyone. No stigma
was attached to anyone who made, sold or used it so it was to be expected there
would be much opposition to the tax on whiskey imposed by the federal government
after the Revolution. In an old history of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, appears
a list of men hauled before the court and fined for refusing to pay the tax. John Foster of Bedford County was one of the names on that list.
An early Foster historian wrote that Elizabeth Lewis, Rev. John Foster’s wife
and Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, were related and that her
son, Benjamin, was a member of that group. No real proof of this can be found and Benjamin’s name does not appear on any list of those who participated.
The FGS for Richard Foster (1779-1831) and his wife Rachel Browning included the following information from Charles Foster’s book.
Seth Clark Foster was born in Jackson Township, Pike County, Ohio, in 1821, a
son of Richard and Rachel (Browning) Foster, and the only representative of a once large family, now living in Pike County. He was married in 1830 to Maria, daughter of James and Mary (Condon) Day. -Three children have been born to them–a daughter, Nancy, died in infancy, and two sons, James Richard and Thomas Day. Mr. Foster is one one of the most prominent farmers in the county, and has held some of the responsible offices of his township. He has been School Director for eighteen years. He has a farm of 217 acres, and is surrounded by all the comforts of a good home.– From “Early Ohio Families.”
Richard was born in 1779, and resided with his father till manhood, when he went back to Maryland and married Rachel Browning, remaining there until after the birth of two sons. He then returned to Ohio, having inherited the homestead of 300 acres, to which he afterward added 130 more. He was a man of frugal habits, and with the assistance of a kind father, became one of the most prosperous men in the county. He was a member of no church but his influence was always on the side of Christianity and morality. His wife was a member of the Methodist Church. His death was due to hydrophobia, having been bitten by his own dog. Doctors at that time did not know how to treat that affliction.–From “Early Ohio Families”
What an interesting story one could write about Richard’s trip from Ohio back to Maryland to marry Rachel in 1801. There was no public transportation of any kind so he either must have walked or rode horseback. There were no roads, no marked trails, no inns or eating places along the way. There were no bridges over streams and Indians were none too friendly. Bad weather and wild animals could also have been a problem. Richard probably brought Rachel and his two sons back yo Ohio by joining another group and floating down the Ohio River.
While the page with information on Seth and Richard Foster contains a reference to ‘Early Ohio Families’, I haven’t been able to identify that source. Since the family was from Ross County, Ohio, this may be a reference to ‘Ross County Ohio Families’. If so, this work was published in four volumes by the Ross County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.