02. Preface
Though this work has been arduous, there have been many compensations – the history that I have learned, the friends that I have made, and the fascinating road I have traveled with my ancestors – across the wilderness, through the wars and into the hearts and lives of their descendants. They conquered the wilderness, fought our enemies and we, their descendants, should never forget what these sacrifices mean to us.
At first I was amazed at the many conflicting accounts read in history books about those early years. A complete understanding has been reached as to how many contradicting items have occurred. I found by checking census and other available materials that they sometimes confused the places of residence and most often dates when they were not recorded. However, this work could not have been completed with-out [sic] their invaluable assistance and untiring efforts.
I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the help of E.T. Foster and E.J. Foster for their generous sharing of the large amount of data collected in the past thirty-five years at family reunions. Also Mrs. C.P. Joyce for her untiring effort to uncover new information or leads to where such information might be found, and all the many cousins for their co-operation [sic]. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Baker and Dr. Elliott of the Southwestern Baptist Seminary and their staff. I wish to express appreciation to the Fort Worth Genealogical Society and Mrs. R.N. Grammer, who made such an interesting and informative talk the last Monday of June 1964. This was the date my interest was aroused and a desire to learn more about my ancestors was fanned from a spark into a flame.
Realizing “every man is a bundle of of his ancestors” and also hunting for all information whether it be good or bad, for “He that has no fools, knaves, nor beggars in his family was begot by a flash of lightning” is an old and true bit of wisdom by Thomas Fuller: Gnomolgia, 1732. I did not find nor did I expect to find a great hero of the time or any with great wealth or power. I did find that as a rule “they were well enough to do” and “their first thought was for the welfare of each other and finding their way to a better world.”
Too much was found to confine this to a Foster family history. I found evidence of a close association and migration of several families from the Carolinas to Tennessee, to Missouri and then to Texas.
A special message to my grandsons and their descendants – “The greatest monument a man can build is his own character.”
written by,
Pearl Foster (O’Donnell)
Fort Worth, Texas