Famous Foster Folks

Foster Preservation Society

Famous Foster Folks

Click here to access a link to Biographical Sketches. "Town of Foster" from the History of Providence County, vol. I and II, Edited by Richard M. Bayles, 1891.

Please note: The biographical sketches shown below are listed chronologically in birth order.

Theodore Foster

Theodore Foster (1752 - 1828) - Attorney and Revolutionary War Patriot for whom the Town of Foster is named. Involved in the burning of the Gaspee and was first U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island. He spent his later life on a farm on Mt. Hygeia Road in Foster, RI.

< < < Click on his picture on the left for more information from Wikipedia.

Click on this link (Gaspee Virtual Archives) to get more info on his involvement in the burning of the Gaspee.

Solomon Drowne

Dr. Solomon Drowne (1753 - 1838) - Physician and Revolutionary War Patriot, spent his later life living on a farm on Mt. Hygeia Road in Foster, RI living next to his friend Theodore Foster. Solomon Drowne's house still stands on Mt. Hygeia Road.

Click on his picture on the right for more info. > > >

Peleg Walker

Peleg Walker (1788 - 1822) - Of famous note, was (and perhaps still is) a resident of Foster. you can do d google search and find a great deal about Peleg and the mill but the Foster Preservation Society would be most appreciative if you would purchast "Peleg's Last Word: The Story of the Foster Woolen Manufactory: from us. Just click on the title to be redirected to our Publication page.

Or if you like geocahing, you can visit the actual sites, click on this link: Peleg Walker and the Ram Tail Mill

Albert Hicks

Albert W. Hicks (c. 1820 - July 13, 1860), was a murderer and one of the last persons executed for piracy in the United States. According to Hicks, he was born in 1820 in Foster, Rhode Island. His father was a farmer and Hicks worked on the farm until the age of 15 when he ran away to Norwich, Connecticut where he began his life of crime.

Click on the picture on the right for more information. > > >

John Bucklyn

John Knight Bucklyn (1834 - 1906) - Born in Hopkins Mills in Foster, RI, John Bucklyn was an Officer in the Civil War participating in the battles at Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. Bucklyn was a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient.

< < < Click on his picture on the left for more info.

Citation information from the Medal of Honor Recipients (Civil War)

web site located at: http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwaral.html

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, Battery E, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery.

Place and date: At Chancellorsville, Virginia, 3 May 1863.

Entered service at: Rhode Island.

Date of issue: 13 July 1899.

Citation: Though himself wounded, gallantly fought his section of the battery under a fierce fire from the enemy until his ammunition was all expended, many of the cannoneers and most of the horses killed or wounded, and the enemy within 25 yards of the guns, when, disabling one piece, he brought off the other in safety.

Nelson Aldrich

Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich (1841 - 1915) - Born in Foster, RI, Nelson Aldrich served the State of Rhode Island in Washington for more than thirty years first as a Congressman from 1879 through 1881 and then as a U.S. Senator from 1881 through 1911.

Click on his picture on the right for more info. > > >

Benjamin Eddy

Benjamin G. Eddy (1881 - 1962) - Long time Town Clerk of the Town of Foster who served in that capacity for a record 42 years from 1918 through 1960. The small building located on South Killingly Road in Foster Center which served as the Town Hall for many years and in which Mr. Eddy's office was located, was named in his honor in 1961.