Holbrook line: Nathan Foster 1728-1809

  I'd like to hug Nathan Foster, just to thank him for leaving birth, marriage, and death records.  I don't care whether he was a rascal or a fine upright citizen at this point, I'm just glad to find an ancestor with records!  

Nathan was born March 27, 1728 in Stafford, Tolland County, Connecticut.  His parents were Nathan and Hannah Standish Foster, and he was one of at least eleven children born to that couple. Nathan would likely have had a typical upbringing, learning to read and write, but not necessarily educated much beyond that.  He was the first son, which typically meant more was expected of him in the family, and so he inherited a double share of his father's estate when his father died in 1753. 

 By then, Nathan was a married man, as he had married Elizabeth (Betsey) Lansford November 15, 1750 in Stafford. Rev. Eli Colton, who was the minister of the Congregational Church there.  (The Congregational churches were more or less descended from the Puritans, but some churches by this time were more liberal than others.)  Elizabeth was the daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Hackben Lansford (or Lunsford). 

Nathan gave a quitclaim deed to three of his brothers the same year he inherited his father's land, and it may be at this time that he and Elizabeth moved to Western, (now Warren), Massachusetts. However, birth records for the first five children are in Stafford, and the first child born in Western was noted as being in 1762.  Nathan and Elizabeth had either 8 or 9 children.  Most lists don't include Tirzah, and she (?) may have belonged to another Foster family.

Nathan was a selectman in Stafford in 1754, which indicates a certain social and financial status in the small town.  This was also the time period of the French and Indian War, and it seems at least possible that Nathan was involved in this to some extent, although I have not found records saying so.  He was certainly the right age, and there were Stafford men who were part of the British forces.  The pastor who married them died of smallpox in 1756, but I haven't determined whether there was an epidemic in town, or whether this was part of the epidemic that hit the military forces during that time period. 

We also don't know whether he participated in the Revolutionary War.  While he was older than the typical soldier by then, he was still under 50 when the war broke out, and he may be the Nathan Foster who seems to have been a part of a Hampshire county regiment that served at Fort Ticonderoga during 1776-1777.  If this is our man, he was a private, and served two terms of enlistment, and he would certainly have stories to tell.  We do know that at least one of his sons served during the war, because Jude was awarded a pension just three weeks before he died in 1789. 

Another question is whether, or how deeply, he was involved in Shays Rebellion in 1787.  Western was in the thick of the area that protested the whiskey tax, and we know from his will that Nathan grew corn, which many in that part of the country converted to whiskey because it was more profitable to sell whiskey than corn.  So after I hugged Nathan for leaving at least some records, I'd be asking him about his possible involvement in the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and Shays Rebellion.

Nathan's wife, Elizabeth, died February 27, 1797 and on January 4 of the following year, he married Betty Blackmer.  12 years later, just three months before he died, the couple sold some land.  Perhaps they moved in with one of the children at this time.  We do have tax records from 1798 which appear to show that he owned several pieces of land at that time.  

When Nathan died, Betty declined administration and Calvin Bellows was appointed administrator.  The estate was valued at $331in personal property and $875 in real estate.  This is confusing because it appeared that they had sold their land, but perhaps they held on to some of it, or perhaps the sale was still in progress at the time of the inventory.  The estate does include some books, and corn, but is not abundant and by the time the widow got her thirds, there wasn't much left to pass on.  However, there was the Foster name, which was a worthy one.  

The line of descent is

Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Hackben

Jude Foster-Lydia M

Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore

Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants