In October 1899 Frederick Clifton Pierce, an American author, published a comprehensive work of over 1,000 pages, Titled

” Foster Genealogy”, being the record of the posterity of REGINALD FOSTER, an early inhabitant of Ipswich New England, whose genealogy is traced back to ANACHER GREAT FORRESTER of Flanders who died in 837AD.

The tome connects the name Foster back to the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent granting of lands in Northumberland to Sir Richard Forrester, who accompanied William the Conqueror in the Norman Conquest in 1066.

A  warning here, Pierce has recently been challenged by a number of armchair critics whose say his research was lacking and that he committed fraud by making false linkages, without evidence, in some of his books.  Well, for me, truth lies in the brain of the beholder, so in the absence of other work I plan to use his data, but please note I don’t have the time or energy to chase down rabbit-holes, these nitwits create. Particularly as they don’t offer alternatives for consideration.

So, using Pierces book as a starting point I plan to convey what I believe to be the genealogy of the Ancient Foster family, as it is so fascinating.

 He describes the origins of the name “ THE  first  that is  known  of the  name  Foster was  about  the year 1050,  when  Sir Richard  Forester, called then  by  his Latinized name,  Forestarius,  went over  to  England.   He accompanied his brother-in-law,   William  the 
Conqueror,  and  his father,  Baldwin  the IV,  the  forester, called  “Le  Debonaire,”  whose wife  was Adela,  daughter of  Robert,  King 
of  France,  and participated  in the  victorious battle  at  Hastings.

We  find  the name  first  Forrester, then  Forester  and now Foster.  In  France it  is  Forestier; in  low  Latin, Forestarius,  from Forest,  a  Wood.  In old  German  it is  Forestari,  Forstare and  now in   Germany we  find  it Vorsta-re.  The  meaning is,  one  who has charge  of  a forest  or  forests; one  who  has charge  of  growing timber on  an  estate, as  in  Gesta Romanorum,  p.  206: “I  am  forester of the  Emperoures  in this  forest,”  Or one  who  lives in  a  forest or wild  wooded  country.”