Ephraim Foster (1657 - 1746)

Born 9 Oct 1657 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1746 at about age 88 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts

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Biography

Ephraim Foster was a witchcraft accuser in the Salem Witch Trials

EPHRAIM FOSTER (Abraham, Reginald), b. Ipswich, Mass., October 9, 1657; m. 1677, Hannah Eames, dau. of Robert, b. 1661, d. July 8, 1711; m. 2d, Jan. 8, 1733, Mary West, of Bradford, wid. of John West. He was a blacksmith. "One of the prominent names in the early town history [of Andover, Mass.,] was Ephraim Foster. He was a grandson of Reginald Foster, a citizen of Ipswich of some consideration, and who is said by genealogists to have been descended from an ancient family of Forsters, mentioned by Walter Scott in his tales and ballads of Scottish border warfare. Ephraim Foster was a man conspicuous in the town matters of Andover, although not connected prominently with the military or the civil history. He seems, judging from the numerous documents in his handwriting, to have excelled as a scribe, and to have been versed in the art of punctuation, then little known to the majority of our town officials. His favorite point was the colon, with which his papers are plentifully besprinkled, without regard to the grammatical or rhetorical construction. This characteristic appears in the 'Proprietor's Records,' where his handwriting occurs. Some of the family estates were in the east part of North Andover, one of the ancient homesteads (that afterward occupied by J. M. Hubbard, Esq., and noted for the large and beautiful elm tree, still vigorous) was Ephraim's residence. He d. September 21, 1746. Res., Andover, Mass., in that part now North Andover.

Ephraim Foster seemed to put some faith in his townsman's prophecies. He testified that Wardell had made some predictions In regard to the birth of his (Foster's) children, that there would be five girls In the household before a son should be born. This had proved true. The witness had also often seen Wardell "tell fortins," and he observed that in doing so the fortune teller always "looked first into the hand of the person, and then cast his eyes down on the ground." This was proof of his being in league with Satan, though the connection is not obvious. -from F.C. Pierce, Foster Genealogy

children

Their children include: Rose Foster (9 May 1679-25 Feb 1692/3) Hannah Foster (Died soon) (28 May 1682-) Hannah Foster (25 May 1684-) Jemima Foster (25 Feb 1685/6-) Ephraim Foster (12 Mar 1687/8-8 Apr 1738) John Foster (26 Mar 1690-Dec 1778) Gideon Foster (Died young) (13 May 1692-25 Jun 1707) Dea. David Foster (18 Apr 1694-22 Jun 1759) Moses Foster (27 Sep 1696-Nov 1766) Aaron Foster (21 Apr 1699-1777) Joshua Foster (13 Mar 1702-) Ruth Foster (9 Mar 1703/4-)

from Janet: Hannah dob is 18 Dec 1661. Hannah's date of death is 8 July 1731. Hannah's marriage to Ephraim was in 1677 or 1678.

Massachusetts Remediation

1. 17 October 1710, Convictions Reversed, The General Court of Massachusetts Bay, An act, the several convictions, judgments, and attainders be, and hereby are, reversed, and declared to be null and void.^[1]
2. 17 Dec 1711, Compensation to Survivors, Governor Dudley, GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY, approved compensation to such persons as are living, and to those that legally represent them that are dead
3. 28 Aug 1957, No Disgrace to Descendants, General Court of Massachusetts, ...such proceedings, were and are shocking, and the result of a wave of popular hysterical fear of the Devil in the community, and further declares that, as all the laws under which said proceedings...have been long since abandoned and superseded by our more civilized laws, no disgrace or cause for distress attaches to the said descendants or any of them by reason of said proceedings.^[2]
4. 31 Oct 2001, Additional Victims Included, Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives in General Court, AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE WITCHCRAFT TRIAL OF 1692, chapter 145 is hereby further amended by adding Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Margaret Scott and Wilmot Redd.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ “Salem Witchcraft : with an Account of Salem Village, and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects : Upham, Charles Wentworth, 1802-1875, Author : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, January 1, 1970. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17845/17845-h/salem2-htm.html#Page_ii.480.
2. ↑ https://www.mass.gov/doc/resolves-of-1957-chapter-145/download
3. ↑ https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2001/Chapter122

See also:

• “Case Files Referencing Ephraim Foster.” Case files referencing Ephraim Foster - New Salem - Pelican. Accessed February 28, 2020. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/tag/foster_ephraim.html.
• Foster genealogy, Part 1 By Frederick Clifton Pierce, Google Books
• "Foster genealogy; : Pierce, Frederick Clifton, 1855." 1904. cn : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/fostergenealogy03pier/. Accessed 8 Jul. 2023. Page 130.
• Massachusetts Society of Genealogist, Inc.
• Genealogy of the Foster Family New Engl Historical & Genalogical Reg
• Genealogy of the Fo(r)ster family, descendants of Reginald Fo(r)ster, of Ipswich, Mass., Edward Jacob Forster.
• Topsfield MA: Topsfield Historical Society, 1912
• Find A Grave: Memorial #14786896