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How
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Virginia:The loss of the great majority of early records of the Virginia Colony and of early county records have presented unique difficulties for researchers interested in tracing their families. The overwhelming desire by individuals to know if possible their ancestral heritage is responsible for the gathering and publishing of all known information. Those records have been searched from these resources and the data found there is presented here to assist all those who want to know how these early Virginia Foster families may relate to themselves. Click on these research tabs, use this map as a general guide, document what you find, then share it with your family members. Dr. Bill Foster published a book in 1989, The Foster Family of Flanders, England, and America - all copies have been sold. He has added to the genealogical portion of the Foster Family and at last count he has identified over 31,000 individuals directly kin or kin through marriage to the original Robert and Elizabeth Garnett Foster family. A second edition of his book is now available by clicking here. The new book is divided into seven volumes published on CD's representing about 2,500 pages of genealogical information. I encourage you to send Dr. Bill Foster a request for your copy soon. In 1583, Queen Elizabeth I of England granted Sir Walter Raleigh a charter to explore and plant a colony north of Florida. In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh explored the Atlantic coast of North America. Raleigh, or possibly the Queen herself, named the area "Virginia" after Queen Elizabeth, known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married. The name eventually applied to the whole coast from South Carolina to Maine, and included Bermuda. The London Virginia Company was incorporated as a joint stock company by the proprietary Charter of 1606, which granted land rights to this area. The Company financed the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Jamestown, named for King James I, was founded on May 13, 1607 by Captains Christopher Newport and John Smith. In 1609 many colonists died during the "starving time" after the loss of the Third Supply's flagship, the Sea Venture. The House of Burgesses was established in 1619 as the colony's elected governance. During this early period Virginia's population grew with the introduction of settlers and servants into the burgeoning plantation economy. In 1619, African servants were first introduced, with slavery being codified in 1661. After 1618 the headright system led to more indentured servants from Europe. In this system, settlers received land for each servant they transported. Land from the Native Americans was appropriated by force and treaty, including the Treaty of 1677, which made the signatory tribes tributary states. The colonial capital was moved in 1698 to Williamsburg, where the College of William and Mary had been founded in 1693. Join our Foster DNA Group 7 to see if you are a genetic cousin sharing a common ancestor. [edit] Religion
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Click on these research tabs, use this map as a general guide, document what you find, then share it with your family members. |
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Click on Maps to ENLARGE Remember that county boundaries have changed many times over the past 400 years. |
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