Notes for: Ebenezer FOSKETT

Ebenezer gave his residence as Stoneham, Mass. when he bought, for Ł300, 150 acres of land in Oxford, Mass., from William Thomas of Boston on 7 Nov 1739. The tract is now in the south-east corner of Charlton, very close to the Dudley line. It appears that Ebenezer had been preparing for this purchase by living in the area for at least 2 years, since on 25 Mar 1738 he had declared before the town clerk of Dudley his intention to marry Susannah Richardson of Woburn, Mass.

Although descendants of Ebenezer are known in the Charlton area, as well as in NY state and Ohio, none of them preserved a family record of his parents, or were ever able to trace his family later. There is actually very little preserved concerning him in Middlesex County.

He was undoubtedly a grandson of John Foskett, but there is no record of Ebenezer's birth, his name is not mentioned in the existing probates and no land was recorded in his name in Middlesex County. Searches have only produced suits instituted by him in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in Middlesex County with writs issued between 23 Nov and 27 Nov 1739. In all cases he was called labourer of Stoneham, but in one case his residence was "late of Medford". The debtors were John Hall of Medford, John Reed of Charleston, Thomas Reed and Francis Johnson of Woburn. The total amount awarded was about Ł130, an important portion of the total that he had pledged 3 weeks before for this land in Oxford.

Wyman, in his Charlestown Genealogies and Estates knew of Ebenezer but could not connect him with others of the family. Wyman had found a record that Ebenezer paid a tax in Charlestown in 1733, which would be the earliest reference to him and would show that he must have been born by 1712.

The following account will attempt to show that Jonathan and Mary (Holden) Foskett had at least 2 unrecorded children. The Holden genealogy lists Rachel who married John Carter as one child and it is believed that Ebenezer also belongs to this family. First of all it is important to note that Mary (Holden) Foskett had a brother Ebenezer Holden for whom this son might well have been named. Second, there is unfortunately no record of Jonathan and Mary Foskett after 1709. Their only deed was a sale of land made in 1703, though this was not recorded until 1723. Since it has been shown that Ebenezer once lived in Charlestown and in Medford, where his presumed brothers were living, and settled in Oxford about the time that Jonathan Jr went to Sturbridge, it appears highly probable that Ebenezer was a son of Jonathan Sr and that the parents of these children died early.

The family clues in the names of Ebenezer's descendants are:
1. He called his first son Thomas, which could be for a cousin or because his uncle Thomas' widow Mirian had helped to bring him up.
2. He named another son Samuel, which was the name of his cousin Samuel Holden who also lived in Stoneham.
3. Samuel used Miriam as a daughter's name although it was found later in 1980 that Samuel Foskett's mother-in-law's name was Miriam.

This information was taken from an article written by Dr. Claude Barlow and published in The American Genealogist Vol. 43, 1967.

There was an enquiry by 18 men who found that Ebenezer did accidentally fall into a well on 04 Sep 1781 and there expired and died alone. His administration, dated 12 Nov 1781, appointed his Eldest son, Thomas, as administrator of his estate by his widow Susannah who had declined the task. To his wife Susannah he left his land and buildings and other beneficiaries were his daughter Susannah, wife of Joseph Baker; daughter Lucy, wife of Jacob Warren; son Samuel; son Ebenezer and daughter Martha, wife of Elisha Putney.