Alfred H Foster

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Barbara Cunningham on July 21, 2009 at 6:51pm

When he died in Richmond, was that where he was living with his family, or was he there because of the Civil War?

Did you check the Chatham County, NC probate records? (I'm sure you did, but have to ask anyway.)

Does Alfred show up on the 1850 Census? If so, where was he and with whom was he living?

I'm sure you've checked all these places for information, but since you didn't state what records you had checked, it never hurts to ask.

Permalink Reply by Louise Thrower Viator Brown on July 21, 2009 at 8:39pm

I have not been to Chatham Co yet but did check everything I could find at the Salt Lake City Library. He died young as a result of injuries sustained during the Civil War. He was in the hospital with chronic diarrhea. There was no will and I could not find any guardianship papers. The only record I have (besides the Civil War information) is the 1860 Census which lists his wife as Mary.

Permalink Reply by Louise Thrower Viator Brown on July 23, 2009 at 2:53pm

John Jackson Foster appears on the 1860 census as 1 year old with father Alfred and mother Mary. He does not appear again until he is married and the head of his own household. Alfred's occupation was listed as "day laborer." I searched the 1870 and 1880 censuses for him with a mother Mary -- she could have remarried or moved back to her parents or another relative.

I put in Alfred Foster for marriages and the only one who married someone named Mary was married to Mary Hix in Randolph County (which is next to Chatham County). No luck in searching the name Hix before or after 1860 for Mary.

In 1900, John Foster was in Randolph County; in 1910 he was listed as Forester in Chatham County. I did not find him on the 1920 census but plan to look "harder" again. He died in 1928 in Durham, NC, and was buried in Randolph County. My grand-aunt was the informant on his death certificate and listed his mother as Miss Mullins. I can find no record of a Mullins to fit this situation. A 2nd cousin, who has been going to courthouses and talking to relatives for over 20 years, has not been able to find out who she is either.

Permalink Reply by Barbara Cunningham on July 22, 2009 at 9:17am

Have you looked at all the Fosters listed in the 1850 NC census? Depending upon how many there are, it can be a tedious task, but if he lived in NC most of his life, he will show up in the 1850 census somewhere.

If he owned property in Chatham County, then he would be on the tax rolls. Do the tax records go back that far?

Another possibility is to look for an Affidavit of Heirship in the deed records of Chatham County, NC.

The marriage records may be harder to research without being physically on the ground in Chatham County. There is the possibility that he married in a surrounding county.

Another thing I have learned is that people did business where it was most convenient for them. If they were closer to the county seat of an adjacent county, they would conduct most of their business there rather than at the county seat of their residence county.

What is his occupation listed as on the 1860 census?

Permalink Reply by Louise Thrower Viator Brown on July 23, 2009 at 2:55pm

John Jackson Foster appears on the 1860 census as 1 year old with father Alfred and mother Mary. He does not appear again until he is married and the head of his own household. Alfred's occupation was listed as "day laborer." I searched the 1870 and 1880 censuses for him with a mother Mary -- she could have remarried or moved back to her parents or another relative.

I put in Alfred Foster for marriages and the only one who married someone named Mary was married to Mary Hix in Randolph County (which is next to Chatham County). No luck in searching the name Hix before or after 1860 for Mary.

In 1900, John Foster was in Randolph County; in 1910 he was listed as Forester in Chatham County. I did not find him on the 1920 census but plan to look "harder" again. He died in 1928 in Durham, NC, and was buried in Randolph County. My grand-aunt was the informant on his death certificate and listed his mother as Miss Mullins. I can find no record of a Mullins to fit this situation. A 2nd cousin, who has been going to courthouses and talking to relatives for over 20 years, has not been able to find out who she is either.

Permalink Reply by Louise Thrower Viator Brown on July 26, 2009 at 4:25pm

It looks to me like he has $10 in personal estate value. Never noticed the "spinster" before. If not the mother, than who is and where did she come from? Alfred died less than 5 years later which makes it difficult to find John Jackson.

Permalink Reply by Louise Thrower Viator Brown on July 28, 2009 at 6:18pm

I discussed this with a friend of mine today who has been doing genealogy a long time. If Mary was a spinster, it could be that Alfred's wife died in childbirth or shortly thereafter and Mary could be a sister or other relative that moved in to take care of the small child. If so, I now have the problems of finding out who the mother was, who Mary was, and where John Jackson went after his father died.

Thanks for pointing out that spinster notation. It puts a new perspective on things -- not any easier, but a new perspective!

Louise

Permalink Reply by Louise Thrower Viator Brown on July 29, 2009 at 4:51pm

I did look for guardianship paper in Chatham and Randolph Counties in the microfilms and books while I was in Salt Lake City at the Library. Nothing was found. I have not been to Chatham County yet.

As for how I know Alfred is the father of John Jackson Foster -- my cousin told me. She has been doing research in courthouses and correspondence and visits with relatives for over 20 years. I would have to look up the very lengthy file she sent me to read exactly how she found it. It is not on this computer and not on the flash drive I just checked. I am confident in her work.

Alfred is named on John's death certificate. I have attached a copy of it.

Attachments:

• JJ Foster death certificate.jpg, 1.9 MB

Permalink Reply by Louise Thrower Viator Brown on August 1, 2009 at 9:11am

Thanks for all you have put into this. John Jackson Foster and R W Dixon do have the blacksmith thing in common. I wish I could find John Jackson in the 1870 and 1880 censuses.

This really gives me some things to consider and check on. I'll let you know if I find anything!

Thanks again.
Louise

Permalink Reply by Louise Thrower Viator Brown on August 1, 2009 at 10:16am

Thanks again. I am checking out that website.

Who knows! Maybe we will crack this case!

Louise