Christopher Foster (1603 - 1687)

Born 17 Aug 1603 in Ewell, Surrey, England

Ancestors

Husband of Frances (Stevens) Foster — married 24 Dec 1628 in Ewell, Surrey, England

Descendants

Died 24 Dec 1687 at age 84 in Southampton, Suffolk, New York

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Christopher Foster migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 2, p. 551) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Christopher Foster immigrated to New England between 1621 and 1640 and later departed for Hempstead then Southampton, Long Island.

Birth

Christopher Foster was born about 1603, since he was 32 years of age in 1635.^[1]

Marriage

On December 24, 1628 at Ewell, Surrey, England, Christopher Foster married Frances Stevens; born about 1610 the daughter of John and Alice (Holoway) Stevens. Frances' parents had been married on January 21, 1604/5 at Farnham, Surrey.^[1]

Children Christopher and Frances

Christopher and Frances (Stevens) Foster were the parents of seven children,^[1]

1. Rebecca Foster, baptized at Ewell on March 5, 1629/30. No additional information.
2. Nathaniel Foster, baptized at Ewell on May 4, 1632. He was married and had two sons Nathaniel and Samuel. The date of marriage and name of his wife are unknown.
3. John Foster, baptized at Ewell on May 8, 1634. He married by 1662; his wife's surname was Shaw, but her given name is unknown. Their oldest child was born at Southampton, Long Island on February 8, 1662. In his will Edmund Shaw, Sr. left a legacy to "my daughter Foster wife to John Foster."
4. Joseph Foster, born about 1640 and married approximately 1665, his wife's name is unknown. The couples' first child is said to have been born about 1665.
5. Hannah Foster, born about 1642 and married Daniel Sayre by 1663. Daniel was recorded as Christopher Foster's son-in-law when he sold land on January 8, 1663.
6. Benjamin Foster, born about 1644 and married Lydia (_____) by 1669. Lydia's surname is unknown. They had a child born at Southampton on July 21, 1669.
7. Sarah Foster, born about 1646 and married Samuel Johns by 1673. Their known first child was born in 1673.

Migration

Enrolled on June 17, 1635 at London for passage to New England on the Abigail were Christopher (aged 32), his wife Francis (aged 25), as well as three of their children; Rabecca (aged 5), Nathaniell (aged 2), and John (aged 1).^[1][2]Christopher was made a freeman of Boston on April 27, 1637. ^[3]

Court Cases^[1]

• Christopher Foster was the defendant in a law suit regarding a debt on June 27, 1637.
• He was fined 2 shillings on March 4, 1650/1.
• He received cattle for payment of debts on June 12, 1655.
• He lost a case about a steer on June 22, 1658.
• Francis Foster, Christopher's wife received a legacy from her mother, Allice Stevens of Ewil in Surrey. On March 9, 1645/6 two letters were received, and Daniell King of Linne was designated as attorney; "two letters of attorney with general power for all debts & in particular for a legacy granted to Francis Foster by the last will of Allice Stevens of Ewill in Surrey, her mother deceased, which letter of attorney was granted by Christopher Foster unto Daniell King of Linne, woolen draper."^[2]

Residences, Land, Occupation

Christopher Foster settled at Lynn^[2] where he was granted 60 acres in the 1638 Lynn land allotment^[3]and where he was admitted to the church before April 17, 1637.^[1]He sold his house and land in 1645^[2] to Daniell Kyng of Lynne.^[1]

He was a small land-owner/farmer/husbandman.^[1]

Moving to Hempstead, Long Island in 1644, he was one of the original proprietors. Christopher was "granted by the inhabitants ... that Christopher Foster shall have an hundred and fifty pound lot" on June 17, 1651. Further on August 3, 1651 "Christopher Foster had granted to him an hundred and fifty pound lot, being appointed for him in maner following, Number 15, Number 8, Number 14..."^[1]

Deeds of Hempstead recorded November 17, 1662, October 19, 1663, and May 27, 1665 indicate the land had previously been owned by Christopher Foster.^[1]

Christopher Foster moved to Southampton by 1650 becoming a freeman there on October 6, 1652.^[1]

Offices ^[1]

• 1640 Essex petit jury on June 30, 1640
• 1650, 1652, 1653 Southampton selectman
• 1653, 1654,1656, 1657, 1658 Petit jury
• 1659 Constable
• 1653 Committee to lay out land

Will, Death

Christopher Foster died after he made his will on August 6, 1684 and before its probate on October 18, 1687. He had bequeath livestock to "my son Nathaniell Foster;" 4 acres of land in Halsey's Neck to his son John; 1 acre of land in the Little Plains and dung to son Bemjamin; grandson Christopher Foster his dividend at Scuttle Hole; his grandson Joseph Sayre the dividend at Hogneck; Jerimiah Foster two acres of land and half I had of Mr. Edward Howell; to daughter Hanah Sayre a ewe sheep and 1/3 part of moveable household; daugher Sarah Johns a ewe sheep and 1/3 of moveables; son Nathaniel my bed and furniture; son Joseph house, homelot and land at the first neck & all other lands meadows and commonages.^[1]

An inventory of his belongings was taken October 24, 1687 and totalled L25 17s, most of it was livestock. He owned one Bible valued at 10s.^[1]

Research Notes

Severed Children. At one time, the profile associated children "George Foster (1628-1630)," "Lydia Foster (1639-1641)" and three daughters "Hannah"--two of which were Hannah (Foster) Remick (abt.1633-abt.1703) and Hannah (Foster) Kite (1640-1727). Anderson et al. (2001) provided only seven children, including only one Hannah--she married Daniel Sayre. For the latter, authors cite "SoTR 2:228" and write, "On 8 January 1663, 'Christopher Foster sells to his son-in-law Daniel Sayer five acres in the great plain." (AmericanAncestors, by subscription). The associations with George, Lydia, Hannah (Foster) Remick and Hannah (Foster) Kite, are being severed in 2023.

2004. Following from e-mail dated 30 Jan 2004 from Ruth Drysdale for County Archivist - Surrey History Centre regarding his birth year - 1603 (age 32 in 1635): There is no way to confirm this, since parish records (which we hold here), start at 1604. However, I have checked the transcripts to these records for the period immediately after 1604 and again from 1624 to 1635 and have found the following entries...

-1628 'Chrystopher ffoster and ffrancis Steven were maryed one the foure and twentye daye of December 1628.'

-1630 'Rebecka foster the daughter of Christopher foster was baptized the vth daye of Marche.'

-1632 'Nathaniel foster the sonne of Christopher foster was baptized the fourthe daye of Maye.'

-1634 'Johanes filius Christopherij ffoster Baptizatus erat Ocatauo die Maij.'

Chronicles. Harriet Cory Dickinson in "Some Chronicles of the Cory Family Relating to Eliakim and Sarah Sayre Cory..." p. 83 says he was the son of John and Margaret Foster born in Reading (Berks) in 1603; the same person as Christopher (Wickham) Foster, Gent. ... son of James Wyckham (alias: John Foster) of Reading Berkshire, and Margaret Servington. But this seems unlikely being that they're from different English counties, and had different occupations. ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13} Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001), 551-554 (Christopher Foster); digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Charles Henry Pope. "The Pioneers of Massachusetts: A Descriptive List, Drawn from the Records..." p. 172.see at google.com
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Dickinson, H.C. (1914). Some chronicles of the Cory family relating to Eliakim and Sarah Sayre Cory and their descendants, Westfield, N.J., Ballston Spa, N.Y.: with others from "John of Southold," (pp.83). T.A. Wright. Google Books.

See Also:

• www.immigrantships.net They were part of the Puritan migration and Hugh Peters, later Cromwell's chaplain, was on the same ship and helped form the church congregation to which Christopher belonged.
• Helen Foster Snow. "The Christopher Foster family history, 1603-1953; a history of the descendants of Christopher Foster and Frances Stevens, his wife, who came to America in 1635 and lived in Southampton, Long Island." Foster Family Assoc., 2513 Monogram Av., Long Beach, California. Publication date 1953 - 1955.see at archive.org

• "England births and Christenings, 1538-1975" via family search online

• Banks, C.E. Planter of the Commonwealth. N.p.