The family of Renald (Reginald) Foster 1595-1681

 This will start a series of blog posts about the Foster family, that eventually merged with the Holbrook family.  As in other posts, I am following the children of the ancestors, just mostly dates and basic information.  These aunts and uncles of generations back all have interesting stories, some of which I've found.  For instance, several of these children lived in the area of Topsfield, Massachusetts, and were directly or indirectly involved with the cases involving the "witches" of Salem fame.  It is more than possible that the men were part of one or more military expeditions that made up King William's War, among others.  

Reginald himself is something of a mystery.  He is said to have been born in Exeter, Devon, England, and is claimed by a man who wrote some fraudulent genealogies to have a record going back to the 9th century in England.  Others say he was actually of French Huguenot ancestry.  The jury is out, obviously.  His wife, Judith, is also a mystery.  Older trees give her name as Wignol or Wignall, but most of those that are built on careful research dispute that, saying there is no proof, and giving her name only as Judith.

And then, there is the question of their children.  One source says he had at least 12 children, but I've found no record, not even a name, for 5 of them.  The children I'm mentioning here are all included in Renald's will, and all can be traced.

Mary was their first born child, about 1618.  She first married Daniel Wood, and had two children, Judith and Daniel.  Daniel died, and she next married Francis Peabody (Pabodie), son of John and Isabel Hager Pabodie.  They had a large family together, including Mary, Isaac, Sarah, Hepzibah, Ruth, Damaris, Samuel, Jacob, Hannah, and Nathaniel.  Mary died in 1705.

Sarah was their second daughter, born in 1620.  SHe married William Story, who was possibly the son of Andrew Story.  Their known children are Sarah, Ann, Seth, William, Samuel, Susannah, and Hannah. Sarah died in 1703.

Abram or Abraham was their first son, born in 1622. He married Lydia Burbank, whose parentage is disputed.  She may have been the daughter of John and Jemima Smith Burbank, or she may have been the daughter of Caleb and Martha Burbank, who were from nearby Rowley.  Both couples seem to have had a daughter named Lydia, so more research needs to be done.  At any rate, Abraham and Lydia have nine known children-Ephraim, Abraham, James, Isaac, Benjamin, Ebenezer, Mehitable, Caleb, and Ruth.  Abraham died in 1711.

There is a gap here of several years duration before the next child, Isaac, was born in 1630.  Possibly there were infants born during this time period who did not survive.  Isaac, however, did survive.  He married Mary Jackson, who may have been the daughter of John and Katherine Jackson.  Their children are Jonathan, Mehitable, Jacob, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Mary, Daniel, Martha, Ruth, Prudence, and Hannah.  Isaac died in 1692. He seems to have next married Hannah Downing, who was possibly the daughter of Malcolm and Margaret Downing.  No children are known from that marriage.  Finally, he married Martha Hale, the daughter of Henry and Constant Esterly Hale.  There are three known children from that marriage-Hannah, Eleazer, and Sarah. 

William was next, born in 1633.  He also married a Mary Jackson, but not the same one as Isaac had married.  This Mary seems to have been the daughter of William and Joanna Collin Jackson.  Their children are Mary, Judith, Jonathan, William, Timothy, Hannah, David, Samuel, and Joseph.  William died in 1713.

Then came Jacob, born in 1635.  He first married Martha Kinsman, the daughter of Robert and Mary Kinsman.  Their children are Judith, John, Jacob, Mary, and Sarah.  Sadly, of this family, only Sarah lived to adulthood.  After Martha's death, Jacob married Abigail Lord, the daughter of Robert and Mary Waite Lord.  Their children are Abraham, Jacob, Amos, Abigail, Nathaniel, Samuel, Joseph, James, and Mary.  

Son Renald or Reginald's birth date is in dispute.  He may have been born as early as 1628, which would help fill in some of the gap between Abraham and Isaac.  Others say he was not born until 1636.  He married Elizabeth Dane, daughter of John and Eleanor Clarke Dane, in 1652, so perhaps the 1628 date is closer to the truth, but records have not been located.  Renald and Elizabeth's children are Elizabeth, Isaac, Judith, Sarah, Mary, John, Rebecca, Naomi, Ruth, Eleanor, Hannah, and Nathaniel.

I've noticed two things about this family, based on the children's names.  Most of the names used are biblical, and are used by more than one of the children (Hannah, Ruth, Samuel, etc).  It also appears that this family did not get the memo telling them there was a naming pattern to be followed, as none of the grandchildren are named Renald, although there are several Judith's.  Tracing the grandchildren, of whom I count 77, would likely be a life long task, so, as usual, I will follow this post with one about our next ancestor, Abraham.