William “the Elder” Foster, of Amelia County

Not the same as William “the Elder” Foster, of Prince William County

Family

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~hutch/genealogy/DABBS/FosterHaney.htm

William Foster

William Foster (Robert1) was born circa 1691-1698 in Essex County, Virginia and died circa August 27, 1767 in Amelia County, Virginia, age 76. He was usually referred to as “The Elder.” He married twice, his first wife has not been identified, but she was the mother of his first five children. His second wife was Ann Booker, daughter of Richard and Rachel Webb Booker (several reports state that Ann’s mother was Rebecca Cobbes). William and Ann married circa 1748. Ann was born circa 1726 in Virginia and died in 1790 in Amelia County. They had four children, all born in Amelia County.

The children of William “The Elder” Foster and his first wife, all born in Amelia County, were:

• Thomas Foster was born circa 1732 and died circa 1799 in Charlotte County. He married Prudence Wortham circa 1754. Prudence died before 1795.
• William Foster, Jr. was born circa 1734 and died circa 1830 in Campbell County, Virginia. He married (1) Elizabeth League circa 1777 in Campbell County, and (2) Phoebe _?_. Elizabeth League was born circa 1757 in Amelia County.
• Mary Foster was born circa 1736 and died after 1782 in Charlotte County. She married John Mitchell on July 22, 1766 in Amelia County. John was born in 1734 in Virginia, the son of James Mitchell, and died after 1788 in Charlotte County.
• James Foster was born in 1738 and died in 1821 in Amelia County. He married Edith circa 1758.
• Elizabeth Foster was born circa 1739 and died in 1783 in Amelia County. She married Benjamin Hubbard on May 2, 1764 in Amelia County

The children of William “The Elder” Foster and Ann Booker, all born in Amelia County, were:

• John T. Foster was born circa 1750 and died circa 1821in Amelia County. He married Frances (Barham?) Worsham circa 1775 in Amelia County. She died after 1841 in Amelia County.
• Richard Foster was born circa 1752 and died in Prince Edward County, Virginia. He married (1) Judith Walker on June 10, 1775 in Amelia County, (2) Obedience Green on March 13, 1793 in Prince Edward County.
• Booker Foster was born circa 1754 and died in 1827 in Maury County, Tennessee. He married Tabitha (Suzannah?) who died after 1826.

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From Karen Eagle Moman on Ancestry's Nicholas County Virginia forum:

Source: Ancestry

THE WILLIAM FOSTER FAMILY

Foster family historians have studied many records to determine the origin of this family. A major problem is that the same names were often repeated, as families named their children after living and deceased relatives. Untangling who was who in old records can be a challenge.

There are four main sources for this family. Col. Edward Campbell, who wrote an account of Nicholas County's First Settlers in the West Virginia History Magazine, 1905 Edition, knew most of the local people personally. His successor, William Griffee Brown, who wrote a History of Nicholas County , West Virginia, Pioneer Families, did not always know the older ones personally, therefore, his comments may have been repetitions of Col.Campbell's observations.

Another source of information is the FOSTER FAMILY BIBLE, published in England in 1765 by His Majesty's Printers. It has been handed down from Isaac Foster to his descendants and in 1983 was in the possession of Andrew Foster of Whitewater in Nicholas County, West Virginia.

Was the William Foster in Northumberland County, Virginia, the same as our William Foster? Perhaps there was more than one William Foster, which may account for sources of disagreement between family researchers about three male children listed in the St. Stephens Parish records. A William Foster was born about 1686 and was married to a Hannah Elizabeth (surname unknown) in Northumberland Co., VA. This information is from the work of Judith K. Fowler and Bob Collier P.O. Box 037 Willits, CA 94590-0937

--Helen Stinson has written Nicholas Co WV Cemeteries-Including Research Data on Smith-Jones- Williams -FOSTER Families of Southern WV She has also examined the Foster family.

She writes: "We do not know conclusively when Isaac Foster might have come to Prince William County, Virginia, though William Griffee Brown stated that Isaac Foster and his four sons (Nimrod, James, Isaac and John) had come from Prince William County, Virginia. All we know is that the Fosters (Robert, Isaac and Nathaniel) did live at the Bend of Gauley, in what later became Nicholas County , in 1798, and Col. Campbell said they had come from Monroe County. Col. Campbell said that Isaac Foster and Robert Foster were cousins, which might indicate that the birth records of Northumberland County, Virginia, indicated more than one parent named William. In any case, Col. Campbell said that Robert Foster was an old man by the time he came to Bend of Gauley in 1798, and that he died soon after. Isaac Foster died in 1814 at Bend of Gauley. Persumably at a ripe old age".

The wives of Isaac (he moved West to Ohio, perhaps to Pike County) and James (who married, then moved to Ohio and then to Indiana) are not presently known. Nimrod left a will, named his wife a (Winney) as was the custom of the time. Perhaps she was already deceased. It has not been confirmed at this time, but perhaps the wife of Nimrod was Betsy (Elizabeth) Brown. It is not known what her relationship (if any) might have been to the Brown Family of Nicholas County, VA/WV, VA., in the 1700's. Nathaniel, on the other hand, left us a record. His first wife was Margaret Cornwall (spelled Commerill on the marriage record of Kanawha County,VA/WV), and by her he had two sons, (Isaac and John). By his second marriage to Margaret Miller he had Sarah (wife of David Haimilton), Andrew (father of Crede), and Redmond who had no children. He had one more son and three more daughters.

A Polly (Mary) Foster appears on the early marriage records of Kanawha County, VA/WV, being wed to John Bailes. Inasmuch as "Polly" is a name in common usage among the Fosters of the era, her parentage has not been proven, but it is possible that she was the daughter of George Foster, who may be a brother to Isaac the elder. Polly and her children are named in John Bailes' will which he left in Nicholas County in 1826, probated in1827. Polly's daughter Lucretia married Presley Foster, son of Nimrod, and had many children.

Military records, being one of the most valuable of records of a bygone era, are often a fruitful source of information. Apparently, Isaac was too old to have participated in the Revlutionary War. According to Col. Campbell's account of the War of 1812 participants from Nicholas County, Presley Foster was listed as a substitute, but no other Foster's were involved. Presley Foster's widow applied for a pension for the War of 1812 and was denied.

Col. Cambell's History stated that Robert Foster (the one who died at the Bend of Gauley) had a son named William who moved to Kentucky; a son Bedford who moved to Monroe County and then moved West, and a daughter Nellie (Eleanor) who married Thomas Hughes, and had three children, and died young.

Nathaniel persumably was not married before they located at the Bend of Gauley since he appears on the marriage records of Kanawha Co VA/WV , in the early 1800's.

Col. Campbell mentions a daughter of Isaac named Linday, and sister of Nathaniel Foster, who married Edward Eagle. Linday was widowed some years later, then married Capt. George Fitzwater, whose name appears in the Foster Family Bible Record.

Since the Fosters were said to have come out of Monroe County before settling in Nicholas County (Monroe was not formed until 1799 and would have been a part of Greenbrier County VA/WV prior to that date, though the part of Greenbrier that later became Monroe County will often appear in historical accounts as actually being Monroe County), it was helpful to read A History of Monroe County to pick up clues about relationships.

On page 344 of the same account, there is mention of an Addison Foster who came from Culpeper County, Virginia, indicating that there may have been more than one Foster Family in the area. However, Addison lived on Wolf Creek with his son John, and his neighbors were Enoch and Bedford Foster. Nimrod, John, George, Isaac and Grigsby Foster were in the county in the early days.

Persons attending the Samuel Brown sale of 1794, chiefly residents of Second Creek district, were Nimrod, Nathaniel, Isaac and John Foster; also mentioned were two CORNWALL men(John and Elijah), thus giving a little support to the fact that the name of Nathaniel's first wife Margaret was misspelled as Commerill on the Kanawha County marriage records. William and Samuel Brown were present, also, indicating that Nimrod Foster certainly knew a Brown Family.

WILLIAM FOSTER (1686-1767); and HANNAH ELIZABETH PAYNE (1690-AFT 1719); had the following children:

1. ROBERT Robert (1711-1768);2 was born 07 Oct 1711.
2. WILLIAM William, Jr (1714-1779); was born 15 July 171
3. ISAAC Isaac (1719-ABT 1814); was born 02 July 1719.
4. GEORGE George (1723-1778); was born 14 Aug 1723.

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• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Sep 3 2019, 22:45:55 UTC