Moses Foster, of Ipswich

Not the same as Moses Foster, of Chelmsford & Ashburnham

Moses Foster, Sr.

• Gender: Male
• Birth: October 04, 1697 Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts
• Death: October 17, 1785 (88) Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, United States
• Place of Burial: Old Graveyard, Also known as: Ancient Burial Ground, Old Burying Ground, 28 Main Street, Essex, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States
• Son of Sgt. John Foster and Mary
• Husband of 1) Mary Rust 2) Mary Blodgett 3) widow Ann Verney

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Family

Moses Foster (son of John Foster and Mary) married 3 times:

1. Mary (Rust) Foster — married 30 Sep 1721 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Province, British America Colonies. Four children.
2. Mary (Blodgett) Blogget — married 18 Jan 1733 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Province, British America Colonies. No children.
3. 3) Widow Ann Verney: 10 Dec 1767 at Ipswich. (Ann Unknown) — married 10 Dec 1767 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Province, British America Colonies. No children.

Children were by 1st wife, Mary Rust.

According to The New England Historical and Genealogical Register for 1876 (vol. 30):

Moses Foster was born in Ipswich, 1697. He was a husbandman. His will was dated 28 March 1782. He died at Chebacco, Ipswich, 27 Sept. 1785. He married first, Mary, daughter of Nathaniel Rust. She died 2 May 1732, in her 30th year. Secondly, Mary Blodgett, 18 Jan. 1732-3. Thirdly, Ann Varney, a widow, who died 21 Feb. 1787, in her 87th year.

His children were:

• i. Miriam, bapt. 14 Aug. 1726.
• ii. Zebulon, bapt. 22 Sept. 1728. m. Anna Knowlton
• iii. Moses
• iv. Aaron, b. 1723. m. Ruth Lowe

Moses Foster wrote his will on 08 Mar 1782 at Ipswich.[7] Son Aaron was the executor of the estate of Moses Foster. The Will was entered into probate on 03 Oct 1785 at Ipswich. Deacon Thomas Burnham, Ebenezer Story, and Thomas Burnham, all of Ipswich, were appointed appraisers of Moses's estate. On 08 Nov 1785, the estate was appraised at £508. 10s, 11d. In his Will, Moses stated that he was a yeoman and mentioned:

• Beloved wife Anna.
• Grandsons, children of my son Moses, decd.: Zebulon Foster, Edward Foster, Josiah and Joshua.
• Granddaughter Anna Clark, daughter of my son Zebulon, decd.
• Son, Aaron Foster, also to be Executor.
• Witnesses: Thomas Burnham, William Burham, Elizabeth Burnham.
• The estate papers contain receipts from Edward Foster, Zebulon Foster, Anna Low, Aaron Foster and Jonathan Stickney (for Anna Stickney) for payment their portion of the estate

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His birth is not recorded in Ipswich VR. (This is not unusual for people in the Chebacco parish.)

https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Ipswich/aMarriagesF.shtml "(FOSTER (Forster)) Moses, and Mary Rust, int. Sept. 30, 1721. CR4" She died May 2, 1732, in her 30th y.

(2nd) https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Ipswich/aMarriagesF.shtml "(FOSTER (Forster)) Moses, and Mary Blogget [both of Chebacco. int.], at Chebacco, Jan. 18, 1732-3.*"

(3rd) https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Ipswich/aMarriagesF.shtml "(FOSTER (Forster)) Moses, and [wid. int.] Ann Varney, Dec. 10, 1767.*"

https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Ipswich/aDeathsF.shtml "(FOSTER (Forster)) Moses, Sept. 27, 1785, a. abt. 88 y. CR4 [1784. GR4]"

Ipswich VR has Moses with these children:

• Miriam, d. Moses and Mary, bp. Aug. 15, 1726.
• Zebulun, s. Moses and Mary, bp. Sept. 22, 1728. married Ann Nolton of Manchester, at Manchester, Apr. 23, 1750.

Early Records of the Foster Family of Andover, page 21 details his 4 children. (https://mhl.org/sites/default/files/files/Abbott/Foster%20Family.pdf)

Disambiguation

Extracted from Brown-Snel Family Roots. “Which Moses Foster?” (May 5, 2018) < link >

The confusion of Moses Foster of Chelmsford and Ashburnham with the Moses Foster of Ipswich seems to go back to the book Foster Genealogy by Frederick Clifton Pierce.[21] Pierce appears to have used two sources for his information about Moses Foster. One is the article by Edward Jacob Forster, “Genealogy of the Fo(r)ster Family: Descendants of Reginald Fo(r)ster of Ipswich, Mass” in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register for 1876 (vol. 30). The other is Ezra S. Stearns’ History of Ashburnham. Pierce’s entry for Moses Foster begins as follows:

“DEA. MOSES FOSTER (John, Reginald, Reginald) b. Ipswich, Mass, in 1697; m. ]an. 18, 1732 Mary Rust; b. 1702. She d. May 2, 1732; m. 2d, Jan. 18, 1733, Mary Blodgett, b. 1702; d. Nov. 11. 1777. in Ashburnham; m. 3d, Mrs. Ann Varney; b. 1700; d. Feb, 21, 1787.” Then Pierce quotes (inaccurately and without acknowledgement) from Stearns’ account of the appearance of Moses Foster at a meeting of the proprietors of Dorchester Canada. After summarizing the rest of what Stearns says about Moses Foster, Pierce adds: “In his extreme old age he returned to Ipswich.” After this, Pierce continues with an adaptation from Forster: “He was a husbandman. His will was dated March 28, 1782. He died at Chebacco, Ipswich, Sept. 27, 1785. He married. first, Mary, daughter of Nathaniel Rust. He d. Sept. 27, 1785. Res., Ipswich, Ashburnham and Ipswich, Mass.” Pierce then follows Forster in listing the four children of Moses of Ipswich. However, he adds to these four one child of Moses of Chelmsford, namely Jane, who married Zimri Heywood.[22]

From the above it will be seen that Pierce has assumed that Moses’ wife Mary, who died in Ashburnham on 11 Nov 1777, is Mary Blodgett, the second wife of Moses of Ipswich. However, this is impossible. Moses of Ipswich married his third wife, Ann Varney on 10 Dec. 1767. Pierce also has to assume that Moses “in his extreme old age” returned to Ipswich from Ashburnham, because Moses of Ipswich died in Ipswich on 27 Sep. 1785. But the records of Ashburnham state that Deacon Foster died in Ashburnham on 17 Oct. 1785 at the age of 94 years[23] (which is more in keeping with the 1692 birthdate of Moses of Chelmsford).

Many have been influenced by the errors of Pierce. I am hoping that this account will make clear that Moses Foster of Chelmsford and Ashburnham (1692-1785) and Moses Foster of Ipswich (1697-1785) are two distinct persons.

Moses is buried in modern day Essex, MA, which was known as Chebacco, then Ipswich. Essex was incorporated in 1819.

References

1. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Foster-12712 (has errors)
2. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63888578/moses-foster
3. https://brown-snel-family.blogspot.com/2018/05/which-moses-foster_5... citations include:
   1. [1] Forster, Edward Jacob. “Genealogy of the Fo(r)ster Family: Descendants of Reginald Fo(r)ster of Ipswich, Mass.” The New England Historical and Genealogical Register for 1876 (vol. 30). Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1876. p. 102.
4. Pierce, Frederick Clifton. Foster Genealogy: Being the Record of the Posterity of Reginald Foster, an Early Inhabitant of Ipswich, New England, Whose Genealogy is Traced Back to Anacher, Great Forester of Flanders, Who Died in 837. A.D., with Wills, Inventories, Biographical Sketches, Etc. Also the Record of All Other American Fosters. Chicago: Press of W. B. Conkey Company, 1899. (Has errors)
5. Genealogy of the Fo(r)ster family; descendants of Reginald Foster, who settled in Ipswich, Essex County, Mass. A.D. 1638 by Forster, Edward Jacob, 1846-1896 (Publication date 1876). Page 22. < Archive.Org >