- Dwight Foster (1828-1884)
Dwight Foster (1828-1884) graduated from
Yale College 1848, was a member ofSkull & Bones and was admitted to the bar inMassachusetts the following year. He served as Massachusetts state attorney general, 1861-64; and a justice of Massachusetts state supreme court, 1866-69. He married Henrietta Perkins Baldwin, the daughter ofConnecticut Governor & US SenatorRoger Sherman Baldwin .He was the son of Alfred Dwight Foster (1800-1852), who was a representative on the Massachusetts General Court, and was involved with various civic organizations including the Worcester town council, Massachusetts Governor’s Council, Leicester Academy,
Amherst College , the State Lunatic Asylum, and the State Reform School.His grandfather Judge Dwight Foster (1757-1823) was a Representative and a Senator from Massachusetts; born in Brookfield, Worcester County, Mass., December 7, 1757; completed preparatory studies and graduated from
Brown University , Providence, R.I., in 1774; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1778 and commenced practice in Providence, R.I.; justice of the peace for Worcester County 1781-1823; special justice of the court of common pleas 1792; sheriff of Worcester County 1792; member, State house of representatives 1791-1792; elected to the Third and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1793, to June 6, 1800, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on Claims (Fourth through Sixth Congresses); delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1799; elected to the United States Senate as a Federalist to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofSamuel Dexter and served from June 6, 1800, to March 2, 1803, when he resigned; chief justice of the court of common pleas 1801-1811; member, State house of representatives 1808-1809; member of the Governor’s council and held other state and local offices chief justice of Worcester County, Massachusetts, a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, the Massachusetts State Legislature, and the Massachusetts Executive Council, and was a U.S. senator serving as a Federalist from 1800 to 1803.His great uncle
Theodore Foster was a Senator from Rhode Island; born in Brookfield, Worcester County, Mass., April 29, 1752; pursued classical studies and graduated from Rhode Island College (nowBrown University ), Providence, R.I., in 1770; studied law; admitted to the bar about 1771 and commenced practice in Providence, R.I.; town clerk of Providence 1775-1787; member, State house of representatives 1776-1782; appointed judge of the court of admiralty in May 1785; appointed Naval Officer of Customs for the district of Providence, R.I., 1790; appointed to the United States Senate in 1790; elected in 1791 and again in 1797 as a Federalist and served from June 7, 1790, to March 3, 1803; was not a candidate for reelection in 1802; retired from public life and engaged in writing and historical research; member, State house of representatives 1812-1816; trustee of Brown University 1794-1822.External links
* [http://www.masshist.org/findingaids/doc.cfm?fa=fa0213 MHS Foster Family Autograph Collection: Guide to the Collection]
* [http://www.massreports.com/memorials/137ma597.htm Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court] Dwight Foster
* [http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Exhibitions/Portraits/stilesandfosterminis.htm Portraits! Worcester Portraits in the American Antiquarian Society]
* [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~bowers/SOY/CaptJohn/d3190.htm Descendants of Captain John Sherman]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.