Mary Foster

Personpeople/mary-foster-1745.md

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As written

name
Mary Foster
aka
[Mary Thompson]
sex
female
access
public
summary
Wife of Thomas Thompson of Deer Isle, Maine, whom she married at Roxbury in 1765, and probably the mother of Rebecca (Thompson) Low. Called "a very worthy woman," she was remembered in the family as a small, precise old lady in a cap with her feet on a footstool. Her parents are not known for certain.
born
date
c. 1745
basis
compiled
confidence
probable
sources
[book-hosmer-1886-deer-isle]
note
Aged 91 at her death (Hosmer, p. 218).
died
date
Mar 1837
place
Deer Isle, Maine
basis
documented
confidence
probable
sources
[typescript-deer-isle-families, book-hosmer-1886-deer-isle]
note
"Widow Mary Thompson Deceased March -- 1837" (the Deer Isle town records, as quoted in the Deer Isle families typescript). Hosmer (p. 218) has "1836, Mrs. Thompson, widow of Thomas Thompson, aged 91."
residences
date
1765
place
Roxbury, Massachusetts
basis
documented
confidence
probable
sources
[vital-records-roxbury, typescript-mollie-pfeiffer-holbrook-low]
note
Married Thomas Thompson at Roxbury on 28 Oct 1765, before they went to Deer Isle.
date
1772
place
Deer Isle, Maine
basis
compiled
confidence
probable
sources
[typescript-deer-isle-families, book-hosmer-1886-deer-isle]
note
Her daughter Rebecca was born at Deer Isle on 12 May 1772; the family was at Thompson's Cove.
father
id
john-foster-1722
basis
inferred
confidence
possible
sources
[book-hosmer-1886-deer-isle, vital-records-roxbury, typescript-mollie-pfeiffer-holbrook-low]
research
research/low/Low_Line_Research.md
note
Mollie's claim. Hosmer calls her "the sister of Mr. William Foster" of Deer Isle, who came from Dedham; a William, son of John and Jane Foster, was born at Roxbury in 1753. But John married Jane Lindsey in 1750, about five years after Mary was born, and no Mary is among their children or in the 1773 guardianships. She could be John's daughter by an earlier, unidentified wife, or another Foster altogether.

Wife of Thomas Thompson of Deer Isle; Hosmer calls her "a very worthy woman" (p. 47). Mollie records her mother's memory of a small, dainty, precise old lady in a cap with her feet on a footstool.

The tradition that she was "half French and Indian," which Mollie herself rejects (p. 119), has no support: everything found places her among English Congregational families at Roxbury.

Hosmer names her brother as William Foster of Deer Isle, a blacksmith from Dedham who held a 200-acre lot and had thirteen children: "Of him Deacon Nehemiah Closson learned his trade" (pp. 51-52). William was a Deer Isle selectman in 1789-93 and 1802 (pp. 220-226).

A Mary, daughter of Thomas and Mary Foster, was born at Dorchester on 2 Feb 1741/2, but she would have been 95 at her death, not 91.

Open questions

  • Her parents, the key gap on this side. Read Suffolk Probate no. 12403 (John Foster,
    1. with its division (Mollie's "Lib. 73, fol. 14") and the 1773 guardianships (15400, 15401, 15599) for a "Mary Thompson" among the heirs. Look for a first marriage of John Foster about 1743-45, and for her baptism in the Roxbury First Church records.
  • Mollie (p. 114) makes Jane, John Foster's widow, her mother. The 1750 marriage date argues against it.
  1. ---
  2. name: Mary Foster
  3. aka: [Mary Thompson]
  4. sex: female
  5. access: public
  6. summary: >-
  7. Wife of Thomas Thompson of Deer Isle, Maine, whom she married at Roxbury in 1765, and probably
  8. the mother of Rebecca (Thompson) Low. Called "a very worthy woman," she was remembered in the
  9. family as a small, precise old lady in a cap with her feet on a footstool. Her parents are not
  10. known for certain.
  11. born:
  12. date: c. 1745
  13. basis: compiled
  14. confidence: probable
  15. sources: [book-hosmer-1886-deer-isle]
  16. note: Aged 91 at her death (Hosmer, p. 218).
  17. died:
  18. date: Mar 1837
  19. place: Deer Isle, Maine
  20. basis: documented
  21. confidence: probable
  22. sources: [typescript-deer-isle-families, book-hosmer-1886-deer-isle]
  23. note: '"Widow Mary Thompson Deceased March -- 1837" (the Deer Isle town records, as quoted in the Deer Isle families typescript). Hosmer (p. 218) has "1836, Mrs. Thompson, widow of Thomas Thompson, aged 91."'
  24. residences:
  25. - date: "1765"
  26. place: Roxbury, Massachusetts
  27. basis: documented
  28. confidence: probable
  29. sources: [vital-records-roxbury, typescript-mollie-pfeiffer-holbrook-low]
  30. note: "Married Thomas Thompson at Roxbury on 28 Oct 1765, before they went to Deer Isle."
  31. - date: "1772"
  32. place: Deer Isle, Maine
  33. basis: compiled
  34. confidence: probable
  35. sources: [typescript-deer-isle-families, book-hosmer-1886-deer-isle]
  36. note: "Her daughter Rebecca was born at Deer Isle on 12 May 1772; the family was at Thompson's Cove."
  37. father:
  38. id: john-foster-1722
  39. basis: inferred
  40. confidence: possible
  41. sources: [book-hosmer-1886-deer-isle, vital-records-roxbury, typescript-mollie-pfeiffer-holbrook-low]
  42. research: research/low/Low_Line_Research.md
  43. note: Mollie's claim. Hosmer calls her "the sister of Mr. William Foster" of Deer Isle, who came from Dedham; a William, son of John and Jane Foster, was born at Roxbury in 1753. But John married Jane Lindsey in 1750, about five years after Mary was born, and no Mary is among their children or in the 1773 guardianships. She could be John's daughter by an earlier, unidentified wife, or another Foster altogether.
  44. ---
  46. Wife of Thomas Thompson of Deer Isle; Hosmer calls her "a very worthy woman" (p. 47).
  47. Mollie records her mother's memory of a small, dainty, precise old lady in a cap with her
  48. feet on a footstool.
  50. The tradition that she was "half French and Indian," which Mollie herself rejects (p.
  51. 119), has no support: everything found places her among English Congregational families
  52. at Roxbury.
  54. Hosmer names her brother as William Foster of Deer Isle, a blacksmith from Dedham who held
  55. a 200-acre lot and had thirteen children: "Of him Deacon Nehemiah Closson learned his
  56. trade" (pp. 51-52). William was a Deer Isle selectman in 1789-93 and 1802 (pp. 220-226).
  58. A Mary, daughter of Thomas and Mary Foster, was born at Dorchester on 2 Feb 1741/2, but
  59. she would have been 95 at her death, not 91.
  61. ## Open questions
  63. - Her parents, the key gap on this side. Read Suffolk Probate no. 12403 (John Foster,
  64. 1760) with its division (Mollie's "Lib. 73, fol. 14") and the 1773 guardianships
  65. (15400, 15401, 15599) for a "Mary Thompson" among the heirs. Look for a first marriage
  66. of John Foster about 1743-45, and for her baptism in the Roxbury First Church records.
  67. - Mollie (p. 114) makes Jane, John Foster's widow, her mother. The 1750 marriage date
  68. argues against it.
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