Coat of Arms
The Foster Surname is of English origin
The Foster Families in America got their heritage in England about 1066 AD after the Battle of Hastings when William the Conqueror knighted a 16-year-old young man (his nephew) Richard de Forestarius and gave to him and his posterity the northern part of England known as Northumberland. The Forster’s surname evolved and the first son’s in each generation inherited the land, titles and the money.
The second and additional sons eventually became known as Foster. The many Foster families spread southward in England and by the early 1600’s were going abroad to establish homes and lands of their own in the English Empire. Some were Knights of the noble class and had occupations as, soldiers, merchants, landowners, physicians, ministry and the trades.
From these many Foster families in England came two branches to America.
(1) Foster home page
(2) The first to arrive was James Richard Foster, age 16 to Virginia aboard the ship, “Safety” in 1635 to Virginia.
(3) The second was John Foster, age 17 to Massachusetts in November 1635 aboard the ship, “Good Hope”.
This statement is mostly true:
“The North stayed north and the South stayed south”
thus two branches from the same tree.
Click to see the tremendous research by Dr. Bill Foster that shows the
Southern Branch of the Foster Family.
Also click on the research by Sarah Lewis on the descendants of Peter Garnett Foster family of Gloucester, Matthew County, Virginia. It was written as a gift to her mother Mary Belle Jones Lewis for Christmas 2008. Sara is a descendant of Peter and lives in Virginia.
Peter Garnett Foster and Beverly Ransom Foster are sons of Richard and Susanna Foster.
Gary Foster (webmaster of Surnames.com) is a descendant of Beverly Foster, brother of Peter Garnet Foster and lives in Gilbert, Arizona.
* Click to download the Word Document The Story of the Foster Family
** Also, Click to see the 1850 Plantation house of Dr. Peter Stapleton Foster of Oak Grove in Wake County, North Carolina written by Bill Harris in November 2018.
