Foster also served three terms in the Pennsylvania State Legislature and was the first collector for the Pennsylvania Canal, a position that led him to move to Allegheny City, where he twice served as mayor. During a business trip to Philadelphia, William met Eliza Clayland Tomlinson (1788-1855) while she was visiting family, and they went on to get married on November 14, 1807 in Chambersburg, PA. From there, the Fosters traveled by horseback to Pittsburgh, where they settled for the remainder of their lives. In 1814, William bought a tract of land on a hillside overlooking the Allegheny River, laying out the plans two years later for the town of Lawrenceville, which he named after Naval Captain James Lawrence who died heroically during the War of 1812. William is identified as the founding father of Lawrenceville.
The Fosters had ten children, the youngest being Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864), who went on to become the preeminent songwriter of the 19th century in the United States and is acknowledged as the "father of American music." William & Eliza Foster both died in 1855, Eliza passing within a few months after her husband.
Thanks to Steven Marsden for starting this profile.
Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Steven and others.
Featured German connections: William is 19 degrees from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 21 degrees from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 23 degrees from Lucas Cranach, 14 degrees from Stefanie Graf, 20 degrees from Wilhelm Grimm, 20 degrees from Fanny Hensel, 25 degrees from Theodor Heuss, 16 degrees from Alexander Mack, 32 degrees from Carl Miele, 13 degrees from Nathan Rothschild, 22 degrees from Hermann Friedrich Albert von Ihering and 20 degrees from Ferdinand von Zeppelin on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
F > Foster > William Barclay Foster
Categories: Berkeley County, Virginia | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Merchants | Pennsylvania Appalachians | Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania, Notables | Notables