Bourbon-Nicholas-Mason County KyArchives Military Records.....Foster, Henry June 1855 Revwar - Pension Capt. Benjamin Robert's Regiment ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ky/kyfiles.html ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Adrienne F Potter apnewz@yahoo.com June 16, 2010, 1:33 pm Revolutionary Pension File National Archives Files: Revolutionary Pension Claim No. 25586 Transcribed by Adrienne Potter (apnewz@yahoo.com) Henry Foster No. 5857 b. 31 May 1762 (birthplace not shown in pension files) d. 1849 Nicholas Co., KY Henry and Esther Foster At the time of his enlistment he lived near Ely’s ford in Culpepper, VA. He had lived in Nicholas KY since 1822. In Jan. 1855 Henry’s widow Esther stated that she been married 31 or 33 years. Esther was denied a pension but was granted 160 acres of bounty land for her husband’s service. Esther stated in 1855 that some of their children were more than 30 years of age and that most of said children resided in Nicholas, KY On this 25 day of November formally appeared before the Justice of the Nicholas County Court Henry Foster a resident of Nicholas County State of Kentucky, aged 71 years the 31st day of May 1833. … being first duly sworn according to law, doth in his oath make the following declaration….that he enlisted in the army of the United States in the latter part of the year 1779 with Capt. Benjamin Roberts and served as a cooper of two companies. Virginia line (he thinks) under the following… officers. Col. George Slaughter who commanded said corp of two companies. “Benjamin Roberts was the captain under whom I served and Ensign William Roberts. Mark Thomas was the captain who commanded the other company and Nathaniel Sanders was his Ensign. There were no majors nor lieutenants in said corp. We continued to serve under said corp until Col. Crockett’s regiment came to the falls of Ohio (now Louisville in the State of Kentucky) where we were stationed, then Slaughters corp were attached to Crockett’s regiment, where I continued to serve until my term of service expired. I enlisted for two years and served out my full term of enlistement I was kept a short time after my term of enlistment expired to receive my discharge which I regularly received in January 1783 a little before the cold Tuesday at the falls of Ohio which discharge I deposited with Col. Leslie Coombs of Lexington Kentucky, who now informs me he deposited it in the War Department where it still remains, and obtained a grant for a pension for me under the law of 1818, but which I never was permitted to draw because of being possessed of too much property. When I enlisted I resided in Culpepper County State of Virginia near Eli’s ford on the Rappahannock River. I entered the service in Culpepper County Virginia from Culpepper we went to Redstone Old Fort from there we went to the falls of Ohio from there to Pickaway in the state of Ohio & won at a little battle at Pickaway. The commanding officer at Pickaway was Gen. George Clarke. I was one of the Artillery who took charge of a Six pounder under Col. Benjamin Lynn a militia Colonel which was the only battle of any consequence I was in during the two years what I served. I was in some Indian skirmishes. I entered the Service soon after my enlistment which was in the latter part of the year 1779 and served under but one term of enlistment. Declaration of Esther Foster, widow of Henry Foster dec.: On 2nd of Jan. 1855, at age 58, that she was a widow of Henry Foster, a soldier of the Virginia line in the War of the Revolution, that she was married to Henry Foster in 1819 by one Rankins, that her name before her marriage was Esther Whittington, that Henry died at his residence in Nicholas County Kentucky 25 Jan 1849 and she remained a widow until this day of 2 Jan 1855. Richard. D. Henry and William Norvell testified in her behalf. She stated that she was married to Henry about 1812 by Rankin in the state of Ohio but she cannot remember the county. (This differs from the year given above). The following is the will of Henry Foster decd to wit. I Henry Foster being feeble in health but of sound and rational mind do make and ordain this as my last will and Testament. First: It is my will and I hereby direct all my just debts and liabilities discharged by my executrix as soon as she can conveniently after my death: and Secondly it is my will and I hereby bequeath and …..by my wife Easter, and her female children, to wit, Sarah, Patsy, Catherine, and Margaret, and her son George, all my lands, slaves, and personal property for and during the period of fifteen years from the time of my death. Third: It is my will however, that Lavina Bruven (or Bruen or Breven) and her husband, and James Foster have the use and enjoyment of the farm on which they live for the aforesaid period of 15 years, that is to say they are each to have an equal moiety. James Foster one half and Bruven and wife the other half. Fourth: It is my wish and will that my son Volney Foster have the use and enjoyment of the farm on which he resides for the said term of 15 years , and my Executrix is hereby directed to pay such sum as the farm may be encumbered with upon a final settlement of the suit now pending between Henry Bishop and myself. Fifth it is my will and I hereby direct that one hundred Dollars be applied by my Executrix in the schooling and education of my son Henry Foster and that his brother Jackson Foster have 50 acres of land laid off to him on the lower end of my place, back of John Kincarts, which I hereby devise to him and his heirs forever. Sixt It is my will that at the end of fifteenyears from the time of my death my property herein bequeathed and devised to my said wife Ester and her children, shall go to her and her said children, Lavina Breven, James & Volney Foster, George Foster, Sarah Foster, Patsy Foster, Catherine Foster, and Margaret Foster, Having made provisions for my elder children it is not my wish that they shall have any thing more of my estate. And lastly I hereby appoint my said wife Easter Executrix of this my last will and Testament and direct that the Court shall not require her to give security. Given under my hand this 21st day of January 1847 Henry Foster. Witness: William Stewart William Norvell The above will was proven in court for Esther Foster (Easter, Ester). Notes from pension file: Henry served as a private from 1789 to 1793. The war department thought he had other older children whose names were not stated, (Note from Adrienne: but it seemed to me that he meant Jackson, Henry, and Volney, and that perhaps they were his children by a different mother than Esther, because of the lateness of their marriage date and because he refers to Patsy, Margaret, etc. as Esther’s children rather than “our” children.) Jan 27, 1855 Samuel June testified that he was a friend and neighbor of Esther and Henry Foster and he knew them for about 34 years and knew them to have been married at least that long (in 1855). He said she and her husband had a large family and some of them were not less than 30 (1855). Esther had one daughter who was a lunatic. In 1843 Benjamin Edwards, acting as pension agent for Henry Foster, obtained his pension but lost the pension certificate. John G. Parks, a Commissioner and Justice of the Peace in Nicholas Co. testified that he had seen Henry’s pension certificate and knew Henry to have received a pension for his service in the Revolutionary War. Henry requested a duplicate pension certificate from the War Dept. Additional Comments: The following seems to prove the lineage of Henry Foster as son of John Foster, and John Foster as son of Anthony Foster and Sarah Sparks. Spotsylvania County Records 1721 - 1800, pg. 77: " L100 Thomas Crutcher, guard. to Henry Foster, orphan of John Foster with Edward Ellis (Elley?), sec. Jun 20, 1776. pg. 228: "April 10, 1763, John Foster of Spts. Co. to Sarah Foster, widow and relict of Anthony Foster, late of sd. Co. Decd. Deed of lease 350 a. on West side of Pamunkey River, whereon sd. John Foster now lives, until Henry Foster, son of sd. John Foster, comes of age, etc. 7s 6d yearly. John Battaley, Thomas Crutcher, Gaydon Branham. July 4, 1763." Pg. 406: "Nov. 25, 1786. George Stubblefield, Gent. High Sheriff of Spots. Co. to Robt. Smith, Gent.of same county. Sale of lands of the estate of Wm. Howard, decd. and of Henry Foster, late of Spots. Co. for taxes etc. Benja. Stubblefield, Richd. Loury, Stephen Johnson, Thomas Herndon, May 3, 1787." This shows that by 1786 Henry Foster had left Spotsylvania County. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ky/bourbon/military/revwar/pensions/foster3130gmt.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/kyfiles/