The family of Abraham (Abram) Foster 1622-1711

 Well, this family has some interesting tie-ins to one of the more famous incidents/tragedies in colonial American history, the Salem witch trials.  But let's start at the beginning.

Abraham Foster, the son of Renald (Reginald) and Judith possibly Wignoll Foster, was born in 1622 in Exeter, Devon, England (no sources found for that statement, but at least this will identify which Abraham we are talking about).  He came to Massachusetts Bay Colony as a teenager and married Lydia Burbank.  Her parents are in dispute because if she was the child of John and Jemima Burbank, and she was born in 1644, she married at an extremely young age and was only thirteen when her first son was born.  (I am accepting these parents until shown otherwise, but I'm always open to other documentation that could change my mind.) 

An interesting fact about Lydia, which I just learned, is that she testified again Elizabeth How or Howe, one of the accused Salem "witches".  

Abraham and Lydia's first son, Ephraim, also has a connection to the Salem trials.  He was the constable in Andover, which is near Salem, and as such, is believed to have arrested some of those who later stood trial.  Ephraim was born in 1657 and was a blacksmith by trade.  His wife was Hannah Eames, the daughter of Robert and Rebecca Blake Eames.  (Rebecca was accused, convicted, and imprisoned for witchcraft but was not executed.)  I wonder whether Ephraim had to arrest his own mother in law? This must have been an incredibly difficult time for Ephraim and Hannah.  It really brings the situation home, to imagine this in the context of the people who up to now have been just names dangling from the family tree!  Ephraim and Hannah added several children to this tree.  Their known children are Hannah, Ephraim, John, David, Moses, Joshua, and Ruth.  Ephraim died in 1746.

Their next son was Abraham, born in 1659.  He married Mary Robinson, the daughter of Robert and Mary Silver Robinson.  Their children are Abraham, Nathan, and David.  I have written of Abraham before, and will follow this family in my next post.

James was the next born, in 1662.  I could find no information about him, except that he died before 1698.  

Isaac was born about 1668 and died in 1717 of smallpox.  He may have married Abigail, and they may have had a son, Jacob.  I could find no documentation for this.  

There was also an infant daughter born about 1668. who did not survive.  I don't know whether this child and Isaac are twins or not.  

Benjamin was born in 1670.  He died in 1735 in Lunenberg, apparently the first of this family to travel west, even though the distance was only about 52 miles.  His wife was Ann, possibly Dunham.  It appears that the source for this name may be Pierce's book about the Fosters, and that is not trustworthy information.  Their children are Benjamin, Amos, Deborah, Kezia, Gideon, Jemima, Isaac, and another Jemima.  

Next born was Ebenezer, in 1672.  He married Mary Boardman (several different spellings), the daughter of David and Hannah Hutchinson Boardman.  Their children are Jemima, Ruth, and Moses.  Ebenezer died in 1718.

And then, finally, a daughter was born.  Lydia must have been thrilled!  Mehitable was born in 1675.  She married Ebenezer Averill, the son of William and Hannah Jackson Averill.  Their children are Mehitable, Susanna, Ruth, Hannah, Mary, Lydia, Jemima, and Phoebe.  Mehitable died in 1740.

Caleb was born in 1677.  He married Mary Sherwin, the daughter of John and Francis Loomis Sherwin.  Their children are Lydia, Jonathan, Sarah, Caleb, Stephen, Mary, Philemon, Sarah, and John.  

The last known child was Ruth, born "after 1678".  She married Jeremiah Perley, the son of John and Mary Howlett Perley.  Ruth died in 1709, apparently childless.  Jeremiah later married twice, but there is no record of any children.  

This gives a total of 38 known grandchildren for Abraham and Lydia.  No wonder the Foster family was well known in the area of Ipswich!