Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Ancestors of Lille Foster

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Ancestors of Lille Foster

Generation No. 7

      64. Jedediah Foster, born 10 Oct 1726 in Andover, Essex, MA ⁷; died 17 Oct 1779 in Brookfield MA ⁸. He was the son of 128. Ephraim Foster and 129. Abigail Poore. He married 65. Dorothy Dwight 18 May 1749 ⁹.

      65. Dorothy Dwight, born 13 Nov 1729 in Springfield MA; died 12 Jan 1818 in Brookfield MA. She was the daughter of 130. Brig. Gen Joseph Dwight and 131. Mary Pynchon.

Notes for Jedediah Foster:
"HON. JEDEDIAH FOSTER (Ephraim, Abraham, Reginald), b. Andover, Mass., Oct. 10, 1726; m. May 18, 1749, Dorothy Dwight, dau. of Brig. Gen. Joseph Dwight; b. Nov. 13, 1729; d. Jan. 12, 1818.
      Mr. Foster was graduated at Harvard college in 1744, and soon after went to Brookfield and engaged in business with Brig.-Gen. Joseph Dwight. He was a man very much trusted and respected. He retained various offices; was deacon of the church in the First Parish; was judge of the Probate Court; judge of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Rev. Nathan Fisher, D.D., preached his funeral sermon, in which he gave him a very high character. In 1753 he headed a petition to the selectmen to lay out the First parish into two parishes. In 1774 he was elected delegate to the Provincial Congress at Cambridge. He was often moderator of the town meetings, and often served on important committees. During the Revolutionary war he was a colonel. In 1775 there was a prevalent prejudice against inoculation as a guard against violent disease, especially smallpox. Col. Foster went to Esopus, N.Y., and was there inoculated, had the disease and returned to health. He was representative in the legislature 1761-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-'70-1-2-3-4-5-9. He was a deacon in the church. He held various military offices, from captain of a company to major of a regiment, under Major-General Winslow, by commission from Gov. Shirley. In 1754 he was commissioned justice of the peace and of the quorum for Worcester county. He was also judge of probate, and afterward one of the judges of the Superior court of Massachusetts. He was a representative of the town in the General Council for 15 years (1761-76), and a member of all the Provincial Congresses of Massachusetts. In 1779 he was a member of the convention for forming a State constitution and of the committee itself appointed to draft it; during the session of which committee he died. He was a man of thorough integrity and honor and of large benevolence, an active Christian and a zealous patriot. "Blessed with a happy steadiness and presence of mind" he always studied to be useful, "being of the fixed opinion that no one should desire to outlive his usefulness." He was especially hopeful, determined and active in that part of the Revolutionary war in which he had an opportunity to take any share of duty or service. He d. Oct. 17, 1779. Res., Brookfield, Mass."--Pierce, Foster Genealogy, p. 160-161.

Notes for Dorothy Dwight:
"Mrs. F.'s personal appearance was thus described by her grandson, Alfred Dwight Foster Esq., in a letter addressed by him to Fredic A. Foster Esq., of Lancaster, O. : "She had always, within my memory, a head of perfectly white hair and very black eyes, although the Dwights almost without exception have light complexion and blue eyes, as my father and uncles Theodore and Theodphilus had."--Pierce, Foster Genealogy, p. 160-161.

Children of Jedediah Foster and Dorothy Dwight are:

	i.	Pamela Foster, born 12 Aug 1750.
32	ii.	Theodore Foster, born 29 Apr 1752 in Brookfield MA; died 13 Jan 1828 in Providence RI; married (1) Lydia Fenner 27 Oct 1771; married (2) Esther Bowen Millard 30 Jul 1803.
	iii.	Theophilus Foster, born 16 Mar 1754.
	iv.	Abigail Foster, born 10 Jan 1756.
	v.	Dwight Foster, born 07 Dec 1757.

Notes for Dwight Foster:
FOSTER, Dwight (brother of Theodore Foster), a Representative and a Senator from Massachusetts; born in Brookfield, Worcester County, Mass., December 7, 1757; completed preparatory studies, and was graduated from Brown University, Providence, R. I., in 1774; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1778 and commenced practice in Providence, R. I., justice of the peace for Worcester County 1781-1823; special justice of the court of common pleas in 1792; sheriff of Worcester County in 1792; member of the State house of representatives in 1791 and 1792; elected as a Federalist to the Third and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1793, to June 6, 1800, when he resigned; delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1799; elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Samuel Dexter and served from June 6, 1800, to March 2, 1803, when he resigned; served as chief justice of the court of common pleas in 1808 ad 1809; member of the Governor's council and held other State and local offices; died in Brookfield, Mass., April 29, 1823; interment in Brookfield Cemetery. --Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1949. U.S. GPO, 1950. p. 1175.

		vi.		Pergrine Foster, born 28 Dec 1757.
		vii.		Ruth Foster, born 11 Sep 1766.

      66. Rev. Noah Millard, born 10 Oct 1758 in Rehobath, Bristol, MA ¹⁰; died 25 Oct 1834 in Burrillville, RI ¹¹. He was the son of 132. Noah Millard and 133. Jane Maxwell. He married 67. Hannah Bowen.

      67. Hannah Bowen, born 25 Sep 1762 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA; died 04 Jul 1794 in Foster, RI.

Children of Noah Millard and Hannah Bowen are:

	i.	Hannah Millard, born 08 Sep 1780.
33	ii.	Esther Bowen Millard, born 15 Jun 1785 in Foster, RI; died 29 Dec 1815 in Foster, RI; married Theodore Foster 30 Jul 1803.
	iii.	Theodore Foster Millard, born 11 Apr 1788.
	iv.	Samuel Arthur Millard, born 14 May 1790.

      68. Ira Seymour, born 31 Aug 1748 in Norwalk, CT; died 04 Oct 1837 in Victor, NY. He was the son of 136. John Seymour and 137. Ruth Belden. He married 69. Ruth Smith 14 Nov 1772.

      69. Ruth Smith, born 1742; died 26 Aug 1792 in Stockbridge, MA. She was the daughter of 138. Dr. Elisha Smith and 139. Ruth Seymour.

Notes for Ira Seymour:
Ira SEYMOUR (John, John, Thomas, Richard), born at Norwalk, Conn., 31 Aug. 1748, died 4 Oct. 1837 aged 89; married first, 14 Nov. 1772, RUTH SMITH, born 1742, died at Stockbridge, Mass., 26 Aug. 1792 aged 50 (in 50th year by gravestone), daughter of Dr. Elisha (Simon, Joseph) and Ruth (Seymour) ; married second, 24 Dec. 1795, JERUSHA PARSONS, born 1 May 1766, died 7 Jan. 1861 aged 96, daughter of Elihu (Edenezer, Joseph, Joseph) and Sarah (Edwards), and granddaughter of Rev. Jonathan Edwards, the noted theologian. He resided in Stockbridge, Mass, and Victor, N.Y. -- History of the Seymour Family : Descendants of Richard Seymour of Harford, Connecticut for Six Generations, 1939 p. 117.
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The Duke of Stockbridge, a romance of Shay's Rebellion, was written by Edward Bellamy in 1879. Several characters in the romance were "real personages who played their parts in this singular revolt." Deputy Sheriff Ira Seymour was one of them.

Passages from the book mentioning Ira Seymour:

p. 16
      "'Twas only yes'day Iry Seymour sold out Zadkiel Poor, ez lives 'long side o' me, an' took Zadkiel daown to Barrington jail fer the rest that the sale didn't fetch," said Israel Goodrich.

p. 128
      "No one will be so cruel. Father is so sick. If you could see him, you would not say so. They shall not take him to jail again. If Mr. Seymour coms after him, I'll tear his eyes out. I'll kill him!'

p. 142
      "No,--that is, I don't know," said Perez, his face flushing a little with the difficulty of thinking at once of any plausible reason. "You see," he finally found words to say, "the store is so near Squire Woodbridge's, that the noise might disturb Madam Woodbridge."
      "She must hev dum sharp ears, ef she kin hear much at that distance," observed Abner, "but it shell be as yew say, cap'n. I s'pose ye've ag'in our givin' Sheriff Seymour a little mewsick."
      "As much as you please, Abner."

p. 148-149
      "Iry Seymour wuz a-goin' ter sell aout Elnathan Hamlin this week, but somehow he hain't got tew it," said Abner, dryly. "I kind o' think he heard some news from Barrington 'baout Tuesday."
      "Iry might's well give up his commission ez depity sheriff, an' try ter git inter some honet trade," remarked Israel.
p. 184
      "Now, boys, le's go an' see Iry Seymour," said Abner, and with a yell, the crowd rushed off in the direction of the deputy sheriff's house.
      Their blood was up, and it was perhaps well for that official that he did not wait to be interviewed. As the crowd surged up before the house, a man's figure was seen dimly flitting across the field behind, having apparently emerged from the back door. There was a yell, "There goes Iry," and half the mob ran after him, but, thanks to the darkness, the nimble-footed sheriff made good his escape, and his pursuers presently returned, breathless, but in high good humor over the novel sport, protesting that they laughed so hard they could not run.

p. 186
      The dismay which the news of the extent and apparent irresistibleness of the rebellion produced among those attached to the court party in Stockbridge corresponded to the exultation to which the people gave themselves up. Nor did the populace lose any time in giving expression to their bolder temper by overt act. About nin o'clock in the morning, Deputy Sheriff Seymour, who had not ventured to return to his house, was found concealed in the corn-bin of a barn near the burying-ground. A crowd instantly collected and dragged the terrified man from his concealment. Some one yelled:
      "Ride him on a rail," and the suggestion finding an echo in the popular breast, a three-cornered fence rail was thrust between his legs, and lifted on men's shoulders. Astride of this sharp-backed steed, holding on with his hands for dear life, lest he should fall offf and break his neck, he was carried through the main streets of the village, followed by a howling crowd, and pelted with apples by the boys, while the windows of the houses along the way were full of laughing women. Having graced the popular holiday by this involuntary exhibition of himself, Seymour was allowed to escape without suffering any further violence, the crowd appearing boisterously jocose rather than embittered in temper.

p. 188
      "Good morning, Abner," replied Edwards, propitiatingly.
      "It's a good mornin' and it's good news ez is come to taown. I s'pose ye hearn it a'ready? I thought so. Ye look ez ef ye hed. But we didn't come ter talk 'baout that. There wuz a little misunderstandin' yis'day 'baout sellin' aout David. He ain't nothin' but a skunk of a Baptist, an' ef Iry hed put him in the stocks or licked him 'twould ha' sarved him right. But ye see some of the boys hev got a notion ag'in hevin' any more fellers sold aout fer debt, an' we been explainin' our idee to Iry this mornin'. I guess he's got it through his head naow, Iry hez. Ye see ef neighbors be goin' ter live together peaceable they've jest got ter understand each other. What do ye s'pose Iry said? He said Squire there told him to sell David aout. In course we didn't b'lieve that. Squire ain't no goldarned fool, ez that would make him aout ter be. He know'd the men ez stopped the courts last week wouldn't be afeard o' stoppin' a sheriff. He knows the folks be in arnest 'baout hevin' an end on suein', an' sellin', an' sendin' ter jail. Squire knows, an' ye all know, that there'll be fightin' fore there's any more sellin'."
      "But Iry didn't save his hide by tryin' ter lay it off onter Squire, an' I guess he won't try no more sellin' aout right away, not ef Goramity told him tew."

p. 205
      After the funeral service Squire Woodbridge managed to whisper a few words in the ears of a dozen or so of the gentlemen present, the tenor of which, to the great surprise of those addressed, was a request that they would call on him that eveing after dark, taking care to come alone and to attract as little attention as possible. Each one supposed himself alone to have been invited, and on being met at the door by Squire Woodbridge and ushered into the study, was surprised to find the room full of gentlemen. Doctors Partridge and Sergeant, and Squire Edward were there, Captain Stoddard, Sheriff Seymour, Tax Collector Williams, Solomon Gleason, John Bacon, Esquire, General and numerous other lawyers, County Treasurer Dwight, Deacon Nash, Ephraim Williams, Esquire, Sedgwick's law-partner, Captain Jones, the militia commissary of Stockbridge, at whose house the town stock of arms and ammunition was stored and several others.

p. 207
      "They have no leaders, though," said Bacon. "Such fellows are dangerous only when they have leaders. They could not stand before us, for methinks we are by this time become desperate men."
      "You forget that this Hamlin fellow will stop at nothing, and they will follow him," remarked Seymour.

p. 308
      One day, three days before the end of January, as Perez, returning from a walk, approached the guard-house, he saw that it was in possession of Deputy Sheriff Seymour and a posse. The rebel garrison of three or four men only, having made no resistance, had been disarmed and allowed to go. Perez turned on his heel and went home. That same afternoon, about three o'clock, as he was sitting in the house, his brother Reuben, who had been on the watch, came in and said that a party of militia were approaching.

p. 343
      Tax Collector Williams once more went his rounds, Deputy Sheriff Seymour's red flag floated again from the gable ends of the houses whence the mob had torn it last September, foreclosure sales were made, processes were served, debtors were taken to jail, and the almost forgotten sound of the lash was once more heard on the green of Saturday afternoons as the constable executed Squire Woodbridge's sentences at the re-erected whipping-post and stocks.

Children of Ira Seymour and Ruth Smith are:

	i.	Ruth Seymour, born 10 Aug 1773.
	ii.	Ruth Seymour, born 17 Jan 1775.
	iii.	Cynthia Seymour, born 17 Oct 1776.
34	iv.	Ira Seymour, born 25 Dec 1778 in Norwalk, CT; died 11 Feb 1861 in Lansing, Ingham, MI; married Betsey Morehouse 25 Dec 1800.
	v.	Joseph Seymour, born 29 Mar 1781.
	vi.	Sophia Seymour, born 27 Mar 1784.
	vii.	Charles Seymour, born 15 Jun 1786.

      70. Jabez Morehouse, born 1742. He was the son of 140. Jabez Morehouse and 141. Mary DeHart. He married 71. Elizabeth Bouton.

      71. Elizabeth Bouton She was the daughter of 142. Ezra Bouton and 143. Mary Bouton.

Child of Jabez Morehouse and Elizabeth Bouton is:

Betsey Morehouse, born 08 Jun 1784; died 17 Feb 1844 in Scio, Washtenaw, MI; married Ira Seymour 25 Dec 1800.

      72. Selah Woodworth, born 11 Aug 1750 in Salisbury, Litchfield, CT; died 25 Oct 1823 in Mayfield, Fulton, NY. He was the son of 144. Caleb Woodworth and 145. Jane Munger. He married 73. Rebecca Dunham 30 Dec 1773 in Salisbury, Litchfield, CT.

      73. Rebecca Dunham, born 12 Jan 1755 in Sharon, CT; died 03 Jun 1836 in Mayfield, Fulton, NY. She was the daughter of 146. Jacob Dunham and 147. Elizabeth Pettee.

Child of Selah Woodworth and Rebecca Dunham is:

William Woodworth, born 06 Apr 1774 in Mayfield, Fulton, NY; died 26 Apr 1813 in Mayfield, Fulton, NY; married Lovina Simson.

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