Check Genealogy Resources:

Before you get yourself totally immersed in trying to find your Northern and Southern Foster Family in tax records, Census, Marriage, Will & Land records, I would suggest you first click on the Animated Atlas of American History to familiarize yourself with very important historical events that your ancestors may have lived through.  Take some notes of things that come to your mind that they may have been part of by looking at the dates of their birth, marriage and death events.  The Free ten minute movie begins about 1789 and will give you the ideas to stimulate your research.

I almost hesitate to suggest this next activity because I don't believe the movie industry respects exactness in historical accounts that they portray on the movie screen, our T.V.'s or personal computers.  But, with note pad in mind I am impressed sometimes when I see a particular scene that makes me think about the clothing they wore or food they ate or the long walk to get water everyday.  I have begun a project of watching historical movies and taking notes from a genealogical view in mind and then linking genealogy websites for you to follow-up on.  Here is the link for genealogy research ideas: http://genealogy.surnames.com/

Printed materials like maps, charts and books found in your local community, county or state libraries can be invaluable for locating a wealth of information.  The only drawback is the updating of the information to what is currently known.  So, go to your libraries and see what you can find.  Many times your local community library will have information only found in that library about the founding of the area and the families involved in this pioneering effort.  The local area may have museums or historical information that will assist you in knowing more about the challenges your family met and dealt with.  Click here to see a Guide to Library Resources on the Internet.

Consider joining a local, county, state or national genealogy society to offer you additional ideas on your research projects.  In these organizations you will meet people that are using the same type of computer genealogy software that you are using and they may be happy to answer your questions on how to use it.  Serving in these organizations will help you learn more than you can ever imagine.  Here is a reference to Genealogy Societies to get you started.

Sooner or later you will hear about several excellent Internet websites and bookstores that can help you find even more information about your ancestors.  They can afford to do this because of the membership fee you pay each month or year to belong to their organization.  I have been a member of several of these organizations for the past five years or so and renew my membership each year because the more family members I find the more I want to find!  Here are some of my favorites: Amazon.com,

American Biographical Notes of Fosters - Link
Being Short Notices of Deceased Persons, Chiefly Those Not Included in Allen's or in Drake's Biographical Dictionaries, Gathered From Many Sources and Arranged By Franklin B. Hough, Albany: Joel Munsell, 1875

Fosters that have served in state or federal government - Link

Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century - Link
Accurate and succinct biographies of famous men and women in all walks of life who are or have been acknowledged leaders of life an thought of the United States since its formation, entirely covering the field of literature, science, history, politics, commerce, and the mechanical and industrial arts.

Historical Register of Foster Officers in the War of the Revolution - Link
Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, April 1775, to December 1783, Mew, Revised, and Enlarged Edition by Francis B. Heitman.

History of the Foster Family by D. I. Foster of Broad Top Mountain, Bedford County, Pennsylvania - Link Compiled in 1998 by E.L. Marshall.  The original copy of this history was owned by Leo Foster and his daughter, Leona F. Marshall.  This history covers the two hundred years from the first Fosters in Massachusetts to Pennsylvania and westward from there.  I am looking for a descendant of this Foster lineage to be a Pennsylvania Foster research state coordinator who will be DNA tested... any volunteers?  Contact Gary Foster by e-mail.

The 20th Century Biographical Dictionary of Fosters - Link & other Notable Americans

The Biographical Cyclopedia of American Women - Fay Foster - Link Volume 1, Compiled under the supervision of Mabel Ward Cameron, New York, The Halvord Publishing Company, Inc. 1924.