"The trail of the Foster Family in America is recorded eloquently in two publications: (1) The Foster Family in Flanders, England and America, by Dr. Billy Glen Foster [2130 Santa Fe Trail, Tyler, Texas 75703], and (2) Forster-Foster and Their Royal Descendants, compiled by Gerneva Foster Dennis [2625 N. Sixth Street, Abilene, Texas 79603].  The Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) of Salt Lake City, Utah, has on their Ancestral File records of family members very similar to the above books mentioned.

"The roots go back to around 1000 A.D.  It is a fascinating story to study the migration from Flanders, through England, and on to America when Richard Forster (b) 1619 arrived aboard the ship 'Safety.'

"Dr. Billy Glen Foster devotes 49 pages to the early history and the Royal ancestry connections.

"Records of Fosters can be found in the Essex County Court House in Tappahannoch, Virginia.  Somewhere along the way the name became Foster rather than Forster after arriving in America.

"The will of Robert Foster was executed in 1715, and probated in 1719 in Essex County, Va.

"Anthony Foster's will was probated in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, in 1763.  He had a son named John Foster.

"John Foster had a son named Anthony Foster (b) 1727 (d) 1805 in Cross Anchor, S.C., where he is buried along with his wife Sarah and brother-in-law, Fielding Tinsley, on the north side of the S.C. Highway #49 right-of-way between Cross Anchor and I-26 some one-half to one mile west of Cross Anchor.  His burial site is in all likelihood on his place at the time of his death.

"Anthony had a son named Archilles [...]"

(Excerpted from "Foster Trails," unpublished article by Cecil W. Hannaford, 11 Sep 2000.)

1. Archilles K. FOSTER b. (1780/1784), Spotsylvania Co., VA, m. ca 1811, in SC, Jane BLACKSTOCK, b. 11 Jul 1794, SC, (dau. of William Berry BLACKSTOCK Jr. and Mary BOBO) d. 12 Dec 1860, Fayette Co., AL.  Archilles died 1845, Fayette Co., AL.

Children:        i  William E. FOSTER b. 10 Dec 1812, SC.
2.   ii  (Rev.) Anthony Edward FOSTER b. 18 Nov 1814, Spartanburg Co., SC.
     iii  Polly G. FOSTER b. 2 Jul 1818.
     iv  Isaac T. FOSTER b. 17 Sep 1820, Hall Co., GA.
      v  James Franklin FOSTER b. 7 Feb 1823.
     vi  Riley Bedemus FOSTER b. 20 Feb 1825, Hall Co., GA.
    vii  Edmond Bobo FOSTER b. 3 Mar 1827, Hall Co., GA.
   viii  Joel M. FOSTER b. 15 May 1829, Hall Co., GA.
     ix  H.I. FOSTER (m) b. 8 May 1831, Hall Co., GA.
      x  Simpson Caswell FOSTER b. 16 Jun 1834, Hall Co., GA.

Archilles and his wife, Jane Blackstock Foster, sold property in Union District, Spartanburg Co., SC, to son Joel Foster on 26 March 1811 for $700 (Deed Book K, pp. 298-299).

In 1828, Archilles Foster and son Edmund Foster of Union District, South Carolina, purchased land in Hall Co., Georgia, which was sold prior to his going to Fayette Co., Alabama, in his later years.

In 1835, he sold 50 acres of land in Hall County, Georgia, to William Reid for $750.

His burial place is undetermined.  His son Anthony Edward Foster is buried in the Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church Cemetery, Mt. Vernon, Alabama, and it is possible that Archilles is buried somewhere in that vicinity.
 

2. (Rev.) Anthony Edward FOSTER b. 18 Nov 1814, Spartanburg Co., SC, m. (1) 28 Feb 1834, Mary A. KING, b. 22 Jan 1813, d. 8 Dec 1872, Fayette Co., AL, bur. Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church Cemetery, Mt. Vernon, Fayette Co., AL, m. (2) 28 Nov 1872, in Fayette Co., AL, Laneza J. EDWARDS.  Anthony died 7 Oct 1885, Fayette, Fayette Co., AL, bur. Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church Cemetery.

Anthony Edward Foster, the second son and second child of Archilles K. and Jane Blackstock Foster, was born in 1814, when James Madison was president of the United States, the year that the British burned Washington, D.C., and The Star Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key.

He was a Circuit Rider Methodist Minister in the Fayette County, Alabama,* area.  He would ride his horse with his Bible in the saddle bag to rural churches to preach on weekends.  The Methodist Library at Birmingham Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama, was researched for information about his ministry.  No records were found of Anthony Edward Foster; however, there were no records of any Circuit Rider Ministers.  It is assumed that Circuit Riders were not included in the Methodist Church District proceedings in those days.

Anthony Edward Foster's name appears in several records in Fayette County.  In 1850, he was listed in the census as head of household (Volume II, p. 14).  The 1860 census lists Anthony Foster, age 45, born in South Carolina, occupation "Hatter" with a personal estate valued at $400.  The 1870 census shows his occupation as farmer; his real estate was valued at $600 and his personal property valued at $400.  The Fayette County, Alabama, History, Part IV — "Churches and Ministers, 1866-1883" — listed him as a Minister.  Page 197 of the Fayette County history shows A.E. Foster was paid $2 in 1874 as Clerk of Elections, Collins Beat.  Page 25 of the Fayette County history, 1821-1969, lists his and other's occupation as "Hatter" or "Hat Maker."  During the Civil War, many young men wrote home for wool hats, and this group of men made them for the soldiers.

The Marriage Records of Fayette County shows the second marriage of Anthony Edward Foster was to Louisa (Laneza) Edwards, 28 November 1872.  Obviously, the date of his second marriage and the death of his first wife, Mary A. King, 8 December 1872, are strange indeed.  The theory is there was some error in the county records in the years involved.  Record keeping in those days was obviously not as accurate as current times.

*Fayette County, Alabama, was created 20 December 1824.  It was originally part of Tuscaloosa and Marion counties.  Fayette was the 33rd county created after Alabama was admitted to the Union in 1819.
 

3. James Monroe FOSTER b. 20 Jul 1845, Fayette Co., AL, m. 6 Feb 1868, in Fayette Co., AL, Mary Louiza THOMPSON, b. 25 Jan 1848, Fayette Co., AL, (dau. of John M. THOMPSON and Nancy JEFFERSON) d. 23 Aug 1933, Reid, Calhoun Co., MS, bur. Poplar Springs Baptist Church Cemetery, Reid, MS.  James died 5 Nov 1907, Thorn, Chickasaw Co., MS, bur. Poplar Springs Baptist Church Cemetery.

James Monroe Foster, the seventh child and third son of Anthony Edward and Mary A. King Foster, was born in 1845, when James K. Polk was president of the United States.  The Alabama census of 1860 lists James M. Foster, age 14, born in Alabama.

James Monroe Foster was a Confederate States Army veteran.  During his military service, he was in the Battle of Shiloh; otherwise, very little is known of his whereabouts and service during the Civil War.

He married Martha Louiza Thompson of Fayette County in 1868.  The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Wiley Miles, pastor of the Mt. Vernon Methodist Church.

The History of Fayette County, Alabama, Volume II, 1821-1970, lists James M. Foster in several places:
• In 1860 the Commissioners of the Court passed an order granting the sum of $20 to James M. Foster and brother for erecting a gallows and furnishing a coffin for William Kirby, who was hanged for the murders of his father and brother.  Sheriff J.N. Horton was allowed $10 as Executor, and John C. Robertson was allowed $9.50 for shrouding and trimmings for the coffin in which William Kirby was buried (p. 3);
• James M. Foster served on the Petit Jury (first week) in 1887 (p. 30).

He moved his family to Chickasaw County, Mississippi, in 1889.  Chickasaw County records show that he purchased land on 20 January 1891 in NE¼ Sec. 20, Twp. 13, Range _ E (Deed Book H-8, p. 315).  Having settled at Thorn, he was engaged in farming and served as the third Post Master of Thorn from November 1895 through June 1902.  Family records indicate that James M. Foster donated the land for the location of the Thorn United Methodist Church.  He and his family were valued members of that congregation the remainder of his life.  James died in 1907 during the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt.
 

Addendum