On the Road to Bathgate Act 4d: I. J. Foster -- They Came to Make Sure He Was Dead

This post, and the On the Road to Bathgate series as a whole, are a journey in learning about, understanding and documenting a family's legacy. This journey began 4 years ago in a small grove of trees on an otherwise open plain near Bathgate, North Dakota at the protestant cemetery (located on land donated by my great grandfather William K. Foster). My oldest daughter launched the journey at the grave of my grandfather, Isaac J. Foster, who on this earth was supported by a cast of 11 children, his wife, Laura Elizabeth Armstrong Foster, and a host of others. I. J. was called from the mortal world 80 years ago but left an unmistakable trail.

When the family went out west in 2010 to scout potential retirement locales, we stopped at my father's home town of Bathgate. I stuck my head in at Reiny's (a bar and the sole remaining retail business in town, now population 43) and inquired of the cemetery's location. We followed the directions kindly given, going south down Garfield Street, left on County Road 1, and beyond the old Great Northern railroad right of way, in total about a half mile out of town. Looking off to the right I spied a grove of trees whose vision triggered memories of my last visit, more than 40 years previous.

Bathgate Cemetery satellite view screenshot, Google Maps

We drove to a parking strip next to the grove, parked, explored the cemetery, and located the Foster family plot. We brushed away leaves and grass clippings from the family headstones and cleared dirt that had accumulated across the edges. My kids found flowers to place on the graves. When we departed the cemetery, my daughter turned to me and said, "Dad, I really feel like I come from somewhere now."

The Foster family plot at Bathgate -- a place from where she comes.

This journey is about filling in missing blanks in that "somewhere." 

The year was 1934 and the Foster era in Bathgate was coming to an end. It had begun when William K. Foster and sons (including my grandfather Isaac) homesteaded quarter section (160 acre) claims in 1879, perfected those claims, and worked with a developer to build the town of Bathgate on one of those claims. Fosters lived in, promoted and served the town for fifty plus years thereafter. 

On the Road to Bathgate Act 4e: Isaac J Foster's Civic and Public Lives (Part 1)

INTRODUCTION

I. J. Foster 1910 Campaign Poster

Our latest I. J. Foster post revolved around the simple summary of life that is published in an obituary. We promised to return with additional posts on a life "long and well lived." This will be the first such post, covering various facets of I. J. Foster's life freshly researched, documenting family and local history, and dedicated to our grandfather.

I. J. Foster was a son, brother and uncle, a husband, father and grandfather, a farmer, rancher, real estate man, auctioneer and public servant.

In addition, throughout Isaac's adult life he was politically active and engaged in matters of civic importance. He attended and participated in county and state political gatherings and conventions. He hosted town, civic and local political meetings in his office building in town. I. J. served on the Pembina county fair board. He ratcheted his political involvement up a big notch in 1911 when he ran for county sheriff. After winning that election and serving the citizens of Pembina county for two terms in law enforcement, Ike was appointed to three five years terms on the state Livestock Sanitary Board. He was active, committed and respected. 

Here we present the story of I. J. Foster's devotions to civic welfare and public service. But first, we delve into a time not long prior, when his fitness to serve and freedom to do so were put into question.

On The Road to Bathgate Act 4i: Aunt Charlotte Nancy Foster Von Alman on Fire

Charlotte Foster and Arnold Leroy Von Alman,
Glendive, Montana, wedding photo, March 29, 1930.

We have relied on Charlotte Nancy Foster Von Alman's writing and storytelling many times. But up to now we have not written a post featuring aunt Charlotte. We rectify that here with additional passages from her family history and vignettes on her long and well-lived life.

Charlotte Nancy Foster Von Alman was born in Bathgate, North Dakota (population 43, 2010 census), November 22, 1906, the tenth of eleven children of I. J. and Laura Elizabeth Armstrong Foster. Charlotte was immediately preceded in birth by her brother Jimmy who was born on September 16, 1905. My father, George W. Foster, the eleventh and final surviving child, came into this world almost three years after Charlotte on August 27, 1909. 

After growing up in Bathgate Charlotte left to attend college, earn her teaching certificate and become a teacher in country schools in North Dakota and Montana. She married Arnold Leroy "Roy" Von Alman in Glendive, Montana on March 29, 1930. The newlyweds returned east to Littlefork, Minnesota shortly thereafter, where their offspring, Bob, Marge and Lyn, were born and raised. Marge lives in Littlefork to this day. Charlotte died at Littlefork on May 2, 1988. 

Foster family of Bathgate, North Dakota, 1910 Federal Census.

Charlotte Nancy Foster, December, 1906

Note the treadle (foot powered) sewing machine in the background of Charlotte's baby picture. As was typical in the day the machine was located near a window to permit entry of natural light to illuminate the sewing surface.

Charlotte bequeathed us fascinating snippets of family lore in the form of an 18-page, typewritten history on the Isaac Jarvis (1862-1934) and Laura Elizabeth Armstrong Foster (1870-1934) family. The history is jam packed with stories about Bathgate, her parents and ten siblings, and the life and times when the children grew up in Bathgate between 1890 and 1930. We sliced and diced, and then spliced the typewritten history into various Foster family ancestry posts, including on her sister Bina, her father Ike and mother Laura, her brothers Adams and Lyn, and her uncle George Sanderson Foster. 

On the Road to Bathgate: Great-Great-Uncle George Pringle Sanderson -- Blacksmith, Locksmith and Safecracker, Part 1.

By blood on the paternal side of the family we are descendants of Fosters and Sandersons in my grandfather's line, and Armstrongs and Hollenbecks in my grandmother's line. Previously, I wrote multiple times at length about the Fosters, and posted several times about the Armstrongs (see the end of this post for a complete list of posts), but have reported little on the Sandersons and Hollenbecks. That is not for lack of material. Today's post begins to fill in the gaps via a look back at a notable ancestor in the Foster/Sanderson line. This is the first of three posts we will publish this fortnight on George Pringle Sanderson.

The Foster/Sanderson line has had quite a collection of Georges. My father was George (George W. Foster, 1909-1999). Dad had an uncle George (George Sanderson Foster, 1864-1946). Dad's uncle George also had an uncle George (George Pringle Sanderson, 1850-1940) who is the topic of this post. And that uncle George was the son of yet a fourth George (George Sanderson, 1808-1903). And oh, did I mention I have a first cousin named George?

The five generations of Georges had lengthy lifetimes, averaging eighty-nine years (excluding cousin George who is still with us near Reno in his eighties), collectively spanning the Napoleanic rule of Europe, Joseph Smith's founding of Mormonism, Marx and Engel's publication of the Communist Manifesto, the prosecution of the American Civil War, the inventions of the telephone (Bell), the phonograph (Edison) and the electric light bulb (Edison), the invention of the airship (Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin) and the airplane (Wright brothers), the invention of plastic (Baekeland), World War I, the rise and fall of the Third Reich (see Adolph Hitler), a worldwide Great Depression, the launching of man into space (Yuri Gagarin), near eradication of infectious diseases such as polio (Jonas Salk), smallpox and typhoid, and the invention of the internet (see Al Gore). Yep, they lived through a lot.

The third of the four Georges, George Pringle Sanderson, was born to George Sanderson and Mary Clark Sanderson at Kemptville, Ontario, Canada on 24 December 1850. He passed from this mortal world at Edmonton, Alberta on 27 October 1940. In between George Pringle Sanderson was carpenter, fire chief, alderman, blacksmith, carriage and bicycle maker, gunsmith, locksmith and safecracker. Here is his story.

Biographical Summary.

Most of the time when researching an ancestor, I have been fortunate to come across a summation already written that encapsulates his or her life. Often that is an obituary. Less commonly it is an article, a chapter, a passage in a book, or a synopsis that was written in consequence of that's relative's position or notoriety in life.  It was writings of the latter genre that jumped to the top of the search engine results when I researched George Pringle Sanderson. George's biographical sketch appeared straight away on the Project Gutenberg site.

GEORGE PRINGLE SANDERSON

George Pringle Sanderson
Alderman on the Edmonton Town Council
In office January 3, 1893 – January 2, 1894
In office July 1896 – December 14, 1896
Personal details
Born	December 24, 1850 Carleton Place, Ontario
Died	October 27, 1940 (aged 89) Edmonton, Alberta
Spouse(s)	Julia Simpson (4 children)
Profession	Blacksmith, locksmith

George Pringle Sanderson (December 24, 1850 – October 27, 1940)[1] was a politician in Alberta, Canada and a municipal councillor in Edmonton.

BIOGRAPHY

George Sanderson was born December 24, 1850 in Carleton Place, Ontario. He moved to Winnipeg in 1877 to work as a blacksmith before moving further west, to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan by ox cart. He came to Edmonton in 1881 by buckboard. He became the settlement's second blacksmith and first locksmith. He returned temporarily to Winnipeg in 1883 to marry Julia Simpson, with whom he had four children.

He became Edmonton's first fire chief in 1892, the same year as he ran in Edmonton's first election for town council. He failed to become alderman, finishing in a tie for eighth of fourteen candidates (the top six were elected). He was more successful in 1893, when he finished fifth of nine candidates, but was defeated in his 1894 re-election bid, finishing eighth of nine candidates.

In 1896, alderman Isaac Cowie resigned, and Sanderson was appointed by Council to take his place. He did not seek re-election in the next election. His last foray into public life took place in 1905, when he finished last of ten candidates in a bid to return as an alderman.

George Pringle Sanderson died in October 1940. He was buried on October 30, 1940.

REFERENCES

• Edmonton Public Library biography of George Sanderson
• City of Edmonton biography of George Sanderson

On the Road to Bathgate: The Odyssey Continues

When the sane among us here in Montana travel in the winter, we go to places like Scottsdale and Tuscon, Honolulu, or the Florida Keys, South Beach and Tampa Bay. As for myself, I am planning a trip to North Dakota -- not a remunerative journey like some of our neighbors, who drive over for a week out of every two or three to work the Bakken oil field, but travel for pleasure. The destination is the state capital city of Bismarck to delve into the records of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

We have documented in our Road to Bathgate series that my father was born and raised in Bathgate North Dakota.  His father (and my grandfather) was I. J. (Isaac) Foster.  His mother (and my grandmother) was Laura Elizabeth Armstrong Foster. There were 11 children who lived to adulthood, with my father the last born in 1909. Among other things, the State Historical Society of North Dakota maintains records of Bathgate newspapers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I am hoping to find a treasure trove of family references and lore and to learn more about the founding, rise and zenith of Bathgate.

To conduct pre-research I opened my wallet to get behind the paywall of www.newspaper.com which has digitized copies available of the Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune beginning in 1873. It is proving to be quite a resource.

On the Road to Bathgate, Act 4e: More on Ike Foster's Tenure as Sheriff

Sheriff I. J. Foster
Official Photo

My grandfather, Isaac J. Foster, served two, two-year terms as sheriff of Pembina County, North Dakota, from 1911 to 1915.  Since February, when we wrote at length about Ike's law enforcement career and his other devotions to public service, we've come across additional material on Sheriff Foster's tenure, which we offer here.

Here is a photo portrait of Ike from a Pembina County history book that lists and pictures of Pembina county sheriffs through the its date of publication. I don't know what you think, but the dude looks sheriff tough to me.

Bismarck Tribune, June 28, 1911

The first additional news item is on legal machinations prior the Ernest Stewart murder trial. As may be recalled, the state's attorney ran into serious evidentiary problems during the presentation of the prosecution's case. The defense was not required to proceed. The charges were dropped for the lack of sufficient evidence. The prosecution's inadequate preparation, failure to substantiate a charge of murder, and its late change of heart, is particularly perplexing, now we can see that from the beginning the defense had fully disclosed its theory of the case and litigation strategy.  

BATHGATE, N. D., June 28. -- The line of defense that will be employed by Ernest A. Stewart, former immigration officer at Neche, N. D. and who was arrested yesterday in Winnipeg charged with the murder of Phillip Worrall, was indicated by him in a statement to Sheriff Foster of Pembina county today.  

Stewart declares that the skeleton [of the alleged murder victim] that has been found and identified as that of Worrall is not, as a matter of fact, that of Worrall. Active preparation for this defense was made by Stewart this morning when he employed James Burke, a Bathgate attorney, to represent him. Stewart will make a hard fight for freedom and denies absolutely that he is guilty. In discussing the identity of the skeleton supposed to be that of Worrall, Stewart says the clothes found are not those worn by Worrall when he disappeared.

Whomever planted this news story made sure to mention Stewart had a wife and 16 year old daughter. Stewart's assistant is painted in a sympathetic light as well, another good litigation tactic, for potential jurors read papers. It may be recalled, that "family man" Ernest A. Stewart disclosed, the day after the prosecution dropped the case, he had months previous secretly divorced his faithful and fawning (during the trial) wife.

In North Dakota, wheat is the currency of the realm. That is the medium a conniving farm hand used to rob his employer of what he was due. Albert Gordon (later corrected to Gardiner and then Gardner) gave new meaning to the term "walking around money."

The Foster Family: Politicians 'R Us

We are no Bushes or Kennedy's, but the Foster family has had more than its fair share of politicians and political activists.

My father was in it up to his ears. He was Republican precinct captain for two precincts in Morton Grove, Illinois. I knew every household in the 57th and 97th because my dad would recruit me to drop off political fliers at each of the hundreds of homes located therein. He received no personal financial benefit or leverage from his political activism, which vexed his patronage employed political opponents to no end. I remember a time when the Democratic precinct captain showed up at our house and asked my dad to lay off, because his (the Democrat's) pay and opportunity for promotion depended on bringing home votes.

My parents were among an army of Donald
Rumsfeld supporters in this October 24, 1964
The Daily Herald full page campaign ad.

My dad was active in village, township, county and state politics (he was buds with Dick Ogilvie who was Cook County sheriff and Cook County Board president, before being elected Illinois governor), connected to influential politicians at all levels. He was elected to the local park board at one point. I remember when I was a youth, dad supported during his first run for office and had a hook into our elected representative in the U.S. House of Representatives (a fellow by the name of Donald Rumsfeld, if you have ever heard of him).

Dick Cheney replaced Donald Rumsfeld
as chief of staff to President
Gerald R. Ford on November 6, 1975.

When Richard M. Nixon was elected President in 1968, my parents went to DC for the inauguration, where Rumsfeld arranged for them to attend lunch at the U.S. Capitol. Mom and dad reported they sat with and conversed with a very nice man, a fellow by the name of Gerald R. Ford, who became the next President of the United States.

On The Road to Bathgate Act 4h: Aunt Laura Albina Foster

It was common back in the day for the eldest daughter to take on her mother's first name. She then would be known by her middle name within the family, and in many cases beyond, so as to avoid confusion with mom. It was normal back in the day to be named, first or middle, after an aunt or uncle. It was ordinary back in the day that if any of the children attended college, that would mean the eldest. And so it was with my aunt Laura Albina Foster.

Bina, as she was known to all, was born in 1890 to Isaac J. Foster and Laura Elizabeth ("Lizzie") Armstrong Foster. She was the eldest of the 11 Foster children who survived infancy. My father, George W. Foster, born 19 years later, was the youngest. Laura Albina Foster, pharmacist in her adulthood, died on November 3, 1928 of mortification of appendicitis. Following are the surprisingly large number of snippets and the themes we have been able to uncover and piece together of her life on this earth.

St. Patrick's Day Honoree 2015: William K. Foster

William K. Foster

March 20, 1835 - September 27, 1902

Foster Irish crest.

On this St. Patrick's Day 2015, we honor our pioneering great grandfather, William K. Foster, who 165 years ago (April 18, 1849) boarded the sailing vessel Bridgetown at New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Six weeks later, on June 1, 1849, William, his widowed mother, and four siblings, landed in Quebec and were thus freed from the throes of the Irish Potato Famine. No doubt they were thankful to have made it safely to Canada for the trip was fraught with hazard.

Traveling to America by ship during the Irish Famine could be quite perilous. In the mid-19th century, English landlords looking to evict penniless Irish tenants would pay to have them shipped to British North America. In many cases these ships were poorly built, crowded, disease-ridden, and short of food, supplies and medical services. As a result, many Irish immigrants contracted diseases such as typhus, and many others died before reaching land. Of the 100,000 Irish that sailed to British North America in 1847, one out of five died from disease and malnutrition. Appropriately, these treacherous sailing vessels became known as “coffin ships.”

On a voyage across the Atlantic in 1847, dozens aboard the Bridgetown succumbed to the fever (typhus) and were buried at sea, leaving many orphans. A passenger wrote from island quarantine:

We arrived here on the 22^nd from Liverpool. I regret to tell you that fever broke out, and that seventy passengers and one sailor were committed to the deep on the voyage. There are several more ill. We buried six yesterday on shore. The carpenter and joiner are occupied making coffins. There are six more dead after the night. I cannot say when we can go to Quebec, as we cannot land the remainder of the sick at present, there being no room in the hospitals for them, though the front of the island is literally covered with sheds and tents. 

The accounts from the shore are awful, and our condition on board you can form no idea of — helpless children without parents or relatives, the father buried in the deep last week, and the mother the week before, — their six children under similar unfortunate circumstances, and so on. I trust God will carry me through this trying ordeal — I was a few days sick, but am now recovered. Captain Wilson was complaining for a few days. It is an awful change from the joyous hopes with which most of us left our unfortunate country, expecting to be able to earn that livelihood denied us at home — all — all changed in many cases to bitter deep despair.

The Bridgetown would be lost at sea off the coast of New Foundland in August, 1850. 

[T]he ship "Bridgetown," from Liverpool, with 347 passengers, was wrecked on the coast of Newfoundland, near Cape Race, on the 4th of August. Excepting three children, the passengers were saved and conveyed to St. John's, whence three vessels arrived with them at this port, on the 10th of September. The passengers by the "Wave" and "Bridgetown," landed here in a very destitute state, having lost all their baggage, on which account they caused a heavy expenditure to the department. The outlay incurred at this and the Montreal agency, for their inland transport and provisions, was 152£ 5s., for which expense, owing to the loss of the vessels, no dues had been received.

Having survived their voyage unscathed, the Foster family adventure in the New World began.

Great great grandmother Margaret Roach Foster, and children Hariett, 24, James, 21, Elizabeth 18, William K., 14, and Isaac, 12, settled in Kemptville, Ontario, located thirty-five miles south of Ottawa.  William came of age, apprenticed as and became a journeyman cabinet maker, a profession which included coffin making. He met Margaret Sanderson, daughter of Scottish immigrants. They married on May 3, 1859. She bore him five sons -- Isaac (my grandfather), George, William, James and Robert. Great grandmother Margaret died of complications from childbirth the week following Robert's birth. The widower William subsequently married Nancy Jane Loucks, who bore him a sixth child, Emily Rellia. 

William Foster headed yet further west in 1874, first to Pembina, Dakota territory. Pembina was the original county seat of Pembina county. It is tucked under the international border in the extreme northeast corner of North Dakota, seventy miles south of Winnepeg, Manitoba. In 1879, William moved on to his final place of residence, homesteading in Bathgate, Dakota territory, fifteen miles southwest of Pembina. William was an original -- literally the town father. 

The founding of Bathgate is chronicled in "Proudly We Speak, A History of Neche, Hyde Park, Bruce and Bathgate."

In this 1893 plat William K. Foster owned a quarter section west of town, plus a
145 acre plot south of town. He donated a triangular plot east of the railroad for the
town cemetery, where he is interred.  The town of  Bathgate is located on land my
great grandfather originally homesteaded. The quarter section north of town is held
at that time by my grandfather Isaac (I. J.) Foster.

William Foster, Sr. and his son "Ike" filed on the land which became the Bathgate townsite. There are several stories of how the town came to be called Bathgate. One taken from the diary of Mrs. John Houston, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Campbell states that in July 1880 two men with a team of horses came to the Campbell home, the land now owned by the Thomas and James Martindale families and asked to stay over night. The men were Comstock and White of the Land Company of Comstock and White, who had purchased the land for a townsite from the Fosters. They went on to Winnipeg, locating townsites along the railroad. On their return,they again stayed over night and Mr. Comstock said that the townsite would be named Bathgate after the town in England, where his wife had lived.

A Mr. Ewing was hired to plot the town into lots, streets and avenues. The Railroad brought the Boom. People came, buildings sprang up, businesses were started and the town grew. The St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad was built from Grand Forks to Winnipeg. It reached Bathgate August 10,1882. Service began in September, the north train arriving in the morning and the south bound train in the late afternoon. In 1890, this railroad became the Great Northern with the well known Jim Hill as President of the Company. The first grain was shipped September 27, 1882. The telegraph came to Bathgate late in 1882.

William K. was active in the town's development far beyond his role in selling his original quarter section off to a developer. "Proudly We Speak" continues,

William Foster was the first to build a home, it was built in the north end of town. He built the building which housed the Post Office. Mr. Foster was the first Postmaster. 

Appointment as original Bathgate postmaster, Black Hills Weekly Pioneer, December 3 1881.

He carried the mail horseback from Hamilton P.O., five miles south of Bathgate and two miles northwest of Hamilton to the Pembina-Cavalier Trail. He performed this service without pay for two years. William Foster was the town's promoter. Church services were held in his house. He donated land for the Cemetery. He and his sons promoted various business ventures.

In additional to selling the land which was developed by Comstock and White, the Fosters retained land to the immediate north which was platted, subdivided and marketed as Foster's Addition to Bathgate. William K. Foster avidly promoted the lots, the town and the territory of Dakota in general.

For his efforts the editor of the local newspaper referred to William Foster as Mayor, an honorific, not legally conferred, title.

William Foster said that Bathgate was "high and dry," not subject to the all too frequent devastating floods that occured a dozen miles east along the "overflowing Red."

Bathgate Sentinel, May 16, 1882

The "Bathgate Sentinel" was quick to confirm the accuracy of advertisements promoting the town. 

Bathgate Sentinel, May 16, 1882

There is not a word of exaggeration in the advertisements of our townsite proprietors Messrs. Comstock & White, and Mr. W. Foster. Located as Bathgate is on a beautiful river, almost in the centre of the rich, and wonderously fertile County of Pembina, and soon to become the great railroad centre, no town can offer better inducements to capital, energy and brains. Everybody sees the superior advantages Bathgate has over all other towns in the county, the beautiful high location; fourteen miles from the raging Red, that has caused so much damage along its banks; a great railroad centre, and a soil extending in every direction from ten to twenty miles that is unrivaled for richness and elevation.

William K. Foster touted the special advantages of Foster's addition in ads placed in the "Pembina Pioneer Express."

Pembina Pioneer Express, June 22 1883.

William Foster's enthusiasm never dimmed.

Pembina Pioneer Express, February 15, 1884

Wm. Foster visited several of the towns in the county last week, but comes back satisfied to remain in Bathgate, although the numerous houses built up around him obstruct the wide view of the surrounding country, which he had when his was the only shanty within several miles of the present town. Mr. Foster says: "This is God's own Country, it can't be beat."

We thank God for the pioneering spirit and drive of our ancestor William K. Foster, and honor him for that and his heritage today, St. Patricks Day 2015. Thanks to him the road has risen to meet us and the wind blows to this day behind our backs. Happy St. Patrick's day great grandfather!

St. Patrick's Day Honoree: Great Grandfather William K. Foster (Repost)

William K. Foster

March 20, 1835 - September 27, 1902

Foster Irish crest.

On this St. Patrick's Day 2015, we honor our pioneering great grandfather, William K. Foster, who 165 years ago (April 18, 1849) boarded the sailing vessel Bridgetown at New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Six weeks later, on June 1, 1849, William, his widowed mother, and four siblings, landed in Quebec and were thus freed from the throes of the Irish Potato Famine. No doubt they were thankful to have made it safely to Canada for the trip was fraught with hazard.

Traveling to America by ship during the Irish Famine could be quite perilous. In the mid-19th century, English landlords looking to evict penniless Irish tenants would pay to have them shipped to British North America. In many cases these ships were poorly built, crowded, disease-ridden, and short of food, supplies and medical services. As a result, many Irish immigrants contracted diseases such as typhus, and many others died before reaching land.  Of the 100,000 Irish that sailed to British North America in 1847, one out of five died from disease and malnutrition. Appropriately, these treacherous sailing vessels became known as “coffin ships.”

On a voyage across the Atlantic in 1847, dozens aboard the Bridgetown succumbed to the fever (typhus) and were buried at sea, leaving many orphans. A passenger wrote from island quarantine:

We arrived here on the 22^nd from Liverpool. I regret to tell you that fever broke out, and that seventy passengers and one sailor were committed to the deep on the voyage. There are several more ill. We buried six yesterday on shore. The carpenter and joiner are occupied making coffins. There are six more dead after the night. I cannot say when we can go to Quebec, as we cannot land the remainder of the sick at present, there being no room in the hospitals for them, though the front of the island is literally covered with sheds and tents. 

The accounts from the shore are awful, and our condition on board you can form no idea of — helpless children without parents or relatives, the father buried in the deep last week, and the mother the week before, — their six children under similar unfortunate circumstances, and so on. I trust God will carry me through this trying ordeal — I was a few days sick, but am now recovered. Captain Wilson was complaining for a few days. It is an awful change from the joyous hopes with which most of us left our unfortunate country, expecting to be able to earn that livelihood denied us at home — all — all changed in many cases to bitter deep despair.

The Bridgetown would be lost at sea off the coast of New Foundland in August, 1850. 

[T]he ship "Bridgetown," from Liverpool, with 347 passengers, was wrecked on the coast of Newfoundland, near Cape Race, on the 4th of August. Excepting three children, the passengers were saved and conveyed to St. John's, whence three vessels arrived with them at this port, on the 10th of September. The passengers by the "Wave" and "Bridgetown," landed here in a very destitute state, having lost all their baggage, on which account they caused a heavy expenditure to the department. The outlay incurred at this and the Montreal agency, for their inland transport and provisions, was 152£ 5s., for which expense, owing to the loss of the vessels, no dues had been received.

Having survived their voyage unscathed, the Foster family adventure in the New World began.

Great great grandmother Margaret Roach Foster, and children Hariett, 24, James, 21, Elizabeth 18, William K., 14, and Isaac, 12, settled in Kemptville, Ontario, located thirty-five miles south of Ottawa.  William came of age, apprenticed as and became a journeyman cabinet maker, a profession which included coffin making. He met Margaret Sanderson, daughter of Scottish immigrants. They married on May 3, 1859. She bore him five sons -- Isaac (my grandfather), George, William, James and Robert. Great grandmother Margaret died of complications from childbirth the week following Robert's birth. The widower William subsequently married Nancy Jane Loucks, who bore him a sixth child, Emily Rellia. 

William Foster headed yet further west in 1874, first to Pembina, Dakota territory. Pembina was the original county seat of Pembina county. It is tucked under the international border in the extreme northeast corner of North Dakota, seventy miles south of Winnepeg, Manitoba. In 1879, William moved on to his final place of residence, homesteading in Bathgate, Dakota territory, fifteen miles southwest of Pembina. William was an original -- literally the town father. 

The founding of Bathgate is chronicled in "Proudly We Speak, A History of Neche, Hyde Park, Bruce and Bathgate."

In this 1893 plat William K. Foster owned a quarter section west of town, plus a
145 acre plot south of town. He donated a triangular plot east of the railroad for the
town cemetery, where he is interred.  The town of  Bathgate is located on land my
great grandfather originally homesteaded. The quarter section north of town is held
at that time by my grandfather Isaac (I. J.) Foster.

William Foster, Sr. and his son "Ike" filed on the land which became the Bathgate townsite. There are several stories of how the town came to be called Bathgate. One taken from the diary of Mrs. John Houston, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Campbell states that in July 1880 two men with a team of horses came to the Campbell home, the land now owned by the Thomas and James Martindale families and asked to stay over night. The men were Comstock and White of the Land Company of Comstock and White, who had purchased the land for a townsite from the Fosters. They went on to Winnipeg, locating townsites along the railroad. On their return,they again stayed over night and Mr. Comstock said that the townsite would be named Bathgate after the town in England, where his wife had lived.

A Mr. Ewing was hired to plot the town into lots, streets and avenues. The Railroad brought the Boom. People came, buildings sprang up, businesses were started and the town grew. The St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad was built from Grand Forks to Winnipeg. It reached Bathgate August 10,1882. Service began in September, the north train arriving in the morning and the south bound train in the late afternoon. In 1890, this railroad became the Great Northern with the well known Jim Hill as President of the Company. The first grain was shipped September 27, 1882. The telegraph came to Bathgate late in 1882.

William K. was active in the town's development far beyond his role in selling his original quarter section off to a developer. "Proudly We Speak" continues,

William Foster was the first to build a home, it was built in the north end of town. He built the building which housed the Post Office. Mr. Foster was the first Postmaster. 

Appointment as original Bathgate postmaster, Black Hills Weekly Pioneer, December 3 1881.

He carried the mail horseback from Hamilton P.O., five miles south of Bathgate and two miles northwest of Hamilton to the Pembina-Cavalier Trail. He performed this service without pay for two years. William Foster was the town's promoter. Church services were held in his house. He donated land for the Cemetery. He and his sons promoted various business ventures.

In additional to selling the land which was developed by Comstock and White, the Fosters retained land to the immediate north which was platted, subdivided and marketed as Foster's Addition to Bathgate. William K. Foster avidly promoted the lots, the town and the territory of Dakota in general.

For his efforts the editor of the local newspaper referred to William Foster as Mayor, an honorific, not legally conferred, title.

William Foster said that Bathgate was "high and dry," not subject to the all too frequent devastating floods that occured a dozen miles east along the "overflowing Red."

Bathgate Sentinel, May 16, 1882

The "Bathgate Sentinel" was quick to confirm the accuracy of advertisements promoting the town. 

Bathgate Sentinel, May 16, 1882

There is not a word of exaggeration in the advertisements of our townsite proprietors Messrs. Comstock & White, and Mr. W. Foster. Located as Bathgate is on a beautiful river, almost in the centre of the rich, and wonderously fertile County of Pembina, and soon to become the great railroad centre, no town can offer better inducements to capital, energy and brains. Everybody sees the superior advantages Bathgate has over all other towns in the county, the beautiful high location; fourteen miles from the raging Red, that has caused so much damage along its banks; a great railroad centre, and a soil extending in every direction from ten to twenty miles that is unrivaled for richness and elevation.

William K. Foster touted the special advantages of Foster's addition in ads placed in the "Pembina Pioneer Express."

Pembina Pioneer Express, June 22 1883.

William Foster's enthusiasm never dimmed.

Pembina Pioneer Express, February 15, 1884

Wm. Foster visited several of the towns in the county last week, but comes back satisfied to remain in Bathgate, although the numerous houses built up around him obstruct the wide view of the surrounding country, which he had when his was the only shanty within several miles of the present town. Mr. Foster says: "This is God's own Country, it can't be beat."

We thank God for the pioneering spirit and drive of our ancestor William K. Foster, and honor him for that and his heritage today, St. Patricks Day 2015. Thanks to him the road has risen to meet us and the wind blows to this day behind our backs. Happy St. Patrick's day great grandfather!

On the Road to Bathgate Act 5: Founding and Early Years

Original Plat of Bathgate Township
IJ Foster Quarter Section North of Town

Bathgate, North Dakota was formed in 1881 when my grandfather, Isaac J. Foster and his father (my great grandfather, William K. Foster) sold a homesteaded claim to a developer. They kept and farmed other claims the family had homesteaded in 1879. Their prime retained land, immediately north of town, was bisected by the railroad right of way, and the river ran through it.  

Isaac was born in Kemptville, Ontario Canada on February 26, 1862; he died in Bathgate on May 10, 1934, with his trade indicated on his death certificate as real estate and auctioneer of 30 years tenure. Isaac is interred in Bathgate Cemetery. William emigrated to Canada from Ireland. Isaac's father was born in Ireland and his mother was born in Scotland. Among other pursuits, Isaac was Pembina County Sheriff (1911-1915), a farmer, a realtor and auctioneer (as mentioned), president of the county fair board, and an insurance agent. He was a Grand Mason. He served on various state boards and along the way sired 11 kids.  



Issac J Foster

When Bathgate Township was founded in 1879 it was originally named Bay View after a the adjacent watery expanse on a bend of the Tongue River, and renamed when the post office was established. The town of Bathgate was platted in 1881 by the Comstock and White Co -- one story has it that Mr. Comstock named it for Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, the hometown of his wife.

Two historical sketches of Bathgate were written for the nation's Bicentennial,. “History of Bathgate, North Dakota” by Shirley Hart, in "Heritage ’76: Pembina County, North Dakota, Then and Now," and “Bathgate History” in "Proudly We Speak: a History of Neche, Bathgate, Bruce and Hyde Park", pp. 47-48  (Neche/Bathgate History Book Committee, ca. 1976).

In the "History of" we are told,

On the Road to Bathgate Act 4e: Isaac J Foster's Civic and Public Lives (Part 2)

(Continued)

B. Isaac Jarvis Foster's Life and Times as Pembina County Sheriff

As if he didn't have enough going on in his life, Ike threw his hat into the ring during the fall of 1910 to run for Pembina county sheriff. For many years, about all we knew of that period of time was the campaign poster published at the beginning (Part 1) of this post. Now we have so much more.

Leading up to Ike's election as sheriff, The Bathgate Pink Paper, which touted itself as the "only Democratic paper in Pembina county," published a ringing and supremely confident endorsement.

SHERIFF

ISAAC J. FOSTER, candidate for sheriff on the ticket above needs no introduction to any part of Pembina county. Evenyone knows "Ike." He came here away back in the seventies, or so long ago that to put it in the law phrase, "the memory of man runneth not." Was you ever so sick that you did not receive a visit, some delicacy or some kind token of his sympathy? Did you ever go to Ike in trouble that he was not willing to sell the shirt off his back to help you out? Speak up if this is not true. Big

The Pink Paper, Sep. 28, 1910

of frame, burly, fearless, tactful, temperate, a man of large experience in business legal affairs, conversant with the duties of the sheriff's office. But, why go father? His personal admirers and that finest of human sentiments, love a a big hearted, generous, forceful individuality, with such a people as we have in Pembina county, ought to carry him to success, even without party support, which, of course, he will have.

Isaac J. Foster prevailed decisively over his opponent, J. T. Blacklock, by 1,692 votes to 1,263 votes on an election day that was difficult for many other Democratic candidates. (See Exhibits F and G below).

Two months after the election, on January 4, 1911, The Pink Paper reported, "Our new sheriff, I. J. Foster, left on Monday to take the oath of office and enter upon his official duties." (See Exhibit H).

We Salute Our Veterans

On this Veteran's Day, 2015, we solemnly salute all the military men and women who have served our country bravely and selflessly in the name of freedom, for there is no more precious commodity on this earth than liberty.

Today we single out for particular acknowledgement several of our forebearers who served in the United States Army during World War I, protecting us and our families and our allies from tyranny and aggression. 

The three men are Fosters of my father's generation, each of whom hailed from the tiny town of Bathgate, North Dakota, and sailed across the roiling waters of the North Atlantic to France, where they served on the blood stained battlefields on the Western Front. 

Let's start with uncle Lyndon R. Foster.

Fourth Infantry Division
Distinctive Unit Insignia

World War I was violently fought. Lyn was in the U.S. Army, Fourth Infantry Division, deployed to the western front, serving side-by-side with French and British troops. His division participated in the St. Mihiel offensive and the Muese Argonee offensives, phases 1 and 2. Elements of the division were gassed by German troops. The Fourth Division's authorized strength was 32,000. During World War I it suffered 2,611 killed in action, and 9,895 wounded. Records suggest that actual division strength was as little as 23,000 (13,000 regulars and 10,000 draftees) translating into a casualty rate of 54 percent, more than half of those who served.

Williston (N.D.) Graphic, February 15, 1917

Lyn enlisted on January 29, 1917 in Williston, North Dakota (currently the epicenter of the Bakken oil boom). He was sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri and served in Battery A, 16th field artillery to discharge. He was overseas from May 10, 1918 to March 24, 1919. Engagements were Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse Argonne and defensive sectors were Vesle (Champagne), Sommedieu (Lorraine). He was discharged at Camp Dodge, Iowa on April 16, 1919, as a private with a surgeon's certificate of disability, 15 percent. He was single at the time.

Lyndon's service, along with that of two of his cousins, was honored in the post-war publication "Pembina County North Dakota in the World War."  

Private Lyndon R. Foster.

4. Private LYNDEN (sic) R. FOSTER, Bathgate, son of Mr. and Mrs. I. J. Foster, born Sept. 26th 1897. Enlisted in the service Jan. 29th, 1917, and served with Battery A., 16th F. A., 4th Division, in France.

Corporal Robert S. Foster.

5. Corporal ROBERT S. FOSTER, Bathgate, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.K. Foster, born April 7th, 1895. Enlisted n the service Oct. 27th, 1917. Made Corporal Dec. 1st 1917, in Co. C., 164 Regiment, 41st Division, and served with them in France.

Corporal William C. Foster.

6. Corporal WM. C. FOSTER, Bathgate, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.K. Foster, born April 4th, 1899. Entered the service July 1st, 1915, and was made a Corporal July 10th 1917. Served in France with Co. C., 164th Infantry, 41st Division.

Lyndon was my father's brother. Robert and William were near neighbors and first cousins to dad and Lyndon (second cousins, once removed to myself). After deployment to France, their 164th Infantry Regiment (which was an activated unit of the North Dakota National Guard) was fragmented to serve up replacement personnel to other divisions, so the war record of individual soldiers in the unit is difficult to trace. 

The 164th Regiment lost 278 men in the war. One hundred seventy-six died in battle, 62 died of wounds, and the remainder succumbed to disease.

That's the simple history for the 164th. The thinly populated rural county of Pembina lost 32 men and women who served on behalf of God and country in World War I.

Uncle Lyn, cousins William and Robert, on behalf of all your descendants, thank you for your service to our country. We remember. We shall never forget.

Next year we shall honor an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Following are supporting documents that surfaced in preparation of this post.

Documentation.

Pembina County North Dakota in the World War, from
North Dakota State University, Digital Horizons.

Robert Sanderson Foster's World War I Draft Registration Card.

The service records of these three young men were published in ROSTER of the Men and Women who served in the Army or Naval Service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its Allies from the STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA in the World War, 1917-1918. Following are those entries plus the cover and the dedication page. The book was published by their uncle R. D. Hoskins, who collaborated with the author and the Bismarck Tribune, which had the state printing contract.

Roster of the Men and Women who served in the Army or Naval Service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its Allies from the State of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918 Volume 2 Flagg to Lark

Name: Robert Sanderson Foster 
Army #: 85,764
Registrant: yes, Pembina county
Birth Place: Bathgate, N. Dak.
Birth Date: 07 Apr 1895
Occupation: student
Comment: enlisted in Company C, 1st Infantry, North Dakota National Guard, at Grafton, on Aug. 27, 1917; served in Company C, 1st Infantry, North Dakota National Guard (Company C, 164th Infantry), to discharge. Grade: Corporal, Dec. 1, 1917; overseas from Dec. 15, 1917, to Feb. 26, 1919. Discharged at Camp Dodge, Iowa, on March 11, 1919, as a Corporal.

Name: Lyndon R. Foster Army #: 564,651 Registrant: no, enlisted prior Birth Place: Bathgate, N. Dak. Birth Date: 26 Sep 1897 Parent's Origin: of Canadian-American parents Occupation: plumber Comment: enlisted at Williston on Jan. 29, 1917; sent to Jefferson Barracks, Mo.; served in Battery A, 16th Field Artillery, to discharge; overseas from May 10, 1918, to March 24, 1919. Engagements: Offensives: Aisne-Marne; St. Mihiel; Meuse-Argonne. Defensive Sectors: Vesle (Champagne); Sommedieu (Lorraine). Discharged at Camp Dodge, Iowa, on April 16, 1919, as a Private, Surgeon's Certificate of Disability, 15%.

Name: William Carrick Foster 
Army #: 85,751
Registrant: no, enlisted prior
Birth Place: Bathgate, N. Dak.
Birth Date: 04 Apr 1897
Parent's Origin: of American parents
Occupation: farmer
Comment: enlisted in Company C, 1st Infantry, North Dakota National Guard, at Grafton, on July 1, 1915; called into federal service on June 19, 1916, for Mexican border duty and served there until discharge; discharged from federal service at Fort Snelling, Minn., on Feb. 14, 1917, and resumed National Guard status; called into federal service, World War, on July 15, 1917; served in Company C, 1st Infantry, North Dakota National Guard (Company C, 164th Infantry), to discharge. Grade: Corporal, June 1, 1917; overseas from Dec. 15, 1917, to Feb. 26, 1919. Discharged at Camp Dodge. Iowa, on March 11, 1919, as a Corporal.

Bismarck Tribune, November 14, 1932.

Uncle Lyndon R. Foster's National Homes for Volunteer Disabled Veterans record.

Predecessor of the VA.

World War I dramatically increased the population of the National Home branches, though this new population had different needs.  The World War I veterans were primarily younger men who needed short term medical care or help with psychiatric problems. After World War I, women veterans entered the National Home branches in low numbers. 


Uncle Lyn spent two months recovering in the national home from March through May of 1922.