CENTRE LINES

The FOSTER Family

This column is part of a feature series which focuses on a different Centre County family each week. Five new columns will be released each month unless some technical difficulty enters the picture.

This column's focus is on FOSTER. An effort has been made to identify all persons carrying that name in the 1890 U.S. Census, using the Centre County business directory which was formed from a preliminary review of that census before the larger set of 1890 U.S. Census records was destroyed by fire. (Sadly, the postal directory does not typically provide the ages of females, but it's the best record we've got).

There are no books in the Pennsylvania Room of the Centre County Library in Bellefonte apparently deals in part with the Foster family.

There are 24 first-name entries for Foster in John Blair Linn's History of Centre and Clinton County (1883). In addition, there are several mentions of the name in Beers' Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania (1898).

And, now, your ancestors' Foster neighbors in 1890:

BELLEFONTE Borough:

Samuel F., 67, justice of the peace--74 S. Water Edwin 37 Jane A. Samuel F. Jr. 9 Harriet L. Sarah H.

COLLEGE Township:

Ettila--State College Gorden 9 John S., 69, retired--State College Susan B. William L. 37 Minnie Philip D. 27 Helen William, 71, farmer--State College Charles 31 John 19 Mary

HAINES Township:

Francis J., 57--Aaronsburg Mary

MILES Township:

Forber, 14--Rebersburg

PHILIPSBURG Borough:

Henrietta--Front St.