Who Are we?

This web site was developed to track results for the Foster DNA project.

We are an all-volunteer effort, and not a commercial venture, using DNA to enhance Foster genealogy studies. We receive no commercial benefits, and do not use ads on this site.

Project Manager: Marcel Gutierrez

Manager Emeritus: Bob Foster

To make donations for scholarships for those testing : Click here . Funds will only be used for DNA tests. There are three ways to do it: a) Credit Card, b) PayPal, c) Mail

We are members of:

About Foster's - Some Annotations

Until 1600 (when the capital F was first used) Foster, Forster were usually written ffoster, fforster (from Alan). Top I believe the word Forester came originally from the Latin. It appears in the Magna Carta (1130AD ??) on the second or third line where the important officials are named. It reads something like: to all Archbishops, Bishops, Earls, Barons, Foresters, Sheriffs, etc. The oldest version I have seen written down naming a particular person was dated 1183 AD, and it referred to a Robertus Forestarius (From Alan 16 Sep 04). Top The Forester was the chief official outside the manorial/township system. He was appointed by the King, or, in a few regions, by the Bishop who was acting on behalf of the King. Till the 15th century it was usually a hereditary position. As the Kings official, the forester was responsible for law and order over wide area, not just including the woods and forests. In many counties there was just one forester, supported by his team of woodmen, gamekeepers and bailiffs. Our counties cover about 1,500 square miles, and we have have had about 40 counties since Anglo-Saxon times. (From Alan 16 Sep 04). Top Nearly 1,000 years ago, we had 40 or more Forster families, and now their descendants number almost 50,000 in England, plus all those cousins overseas in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc.(From Alan 16 Sep 04). Top In 1881 there were about 5,000 Forsters and Fosters living in County Durham, and over 45,000 living in Britain, almost all in England.(From Alan 16 Sep 04). Top In the 1914-18 & 1939-45 wars, about 2,000 Fosters/Forsters were killed in action, including two brothers of Thomas Forster (b. 1877): Joseph Henry Forster, of the Durham Light Infantry (K I A, France, 1915) and George Forster, Northumberland Fusiliers/Royal Engineers (K I A, Belgium, 1917). A third brother Matthew Forster was badly wounded but survived the war. Alfred Foster, (b.1913) was badly wounded, December 1941, serving with a British Infantry Regiment, The Black Watch, at the battle of Tobruk (North Africa) - a battle in which the British 70th Division defeated the German Africa Korps.(From Alan 16 Sep 04). Top