Part III � Flanders
The ancient territory of Flanders in the time of Caesar was inhabited by Celtic tribes, but in the centuries that followed was repeatedly overrun by German invaders, and finally became a part of the dominion of the Franks. After a break-up of the Carolingian empire Flanders was attached to France, later a part of the Netherlands, then called Lorraine, after King Lothaire II.
Generation 10. The earliest patriarches of this line descended from a certain Salvert Prince of Dijon (dates unknown). His wife was Eringarde, daughter of Girard, Lord of Rousillon.
Generation 9. Lyderic, Count of Harlebec (died 826)
Generation 8. Anarcher
Generation 7. However, when we get to Baldwin, the son of Anarcher, we begin dealing with well-documented history. This story is a story of love, intrigue, and war. Baldwin, the son of Anarcher fell in love with a young girl. Her name was Judith, born about 848. Her father was none other than Charles I, King of France (823 - 877), and Hermentrude. Charles was known as Charles the Bald. Charles reigned as King of France from 840 to 877 and later reigned as Emperor Charles II of the Holy Roman Empire from 875 to 877. in the year 860, this 16 year old girl rebelled against her parents and refused to allow them to any more use her for political purposes. We can feel nothing but sympathy for her. She was already twice a widow. Her father had married her to a Saxon prince named Aelthewulf. After Aelthewulf was killed, Judith was forced to marry again, this time to Aelthewulf's brother Aelthelbald. Then Aelthelbald was also killed and poor Judith was a sixteen year old double widow. One can only imagine her hurt and her pain. Along came Baldwin in shining armor. Baldwin is called Bras de Fer, which means "Iron Man." We have also seen him referenced as "Iron Arm." Some have speculated that he got his nickname from wearing his armor all the time. Others have said it was probably because he was a strong, muscular man. Nevertheless, he swept young Judith off her feet, and the two of them eloped, and ran off to Rome to live together.
Daddy wanted his daughter back. It took King Charles three years of negotiation, but he finally convinced Baldwin and Judith to return. The terms of the settlement were: (1) The two young lovers could stay together, but (2) Baldwin must make an honest woman out of her. (3) After the marriage they must return to France, (4) Charles would establish Flanders as a country and Baldwin must accept the appointment as the Count, (5) Baldwin must rid the land of the invading Vikings, and (6) Charles would pay for the military expense.
Baldwin and Judith were married in Rome in 863. After returning to France Baldwin accepted the post as Count of Flanders and took his place among the European nobility. He immediately began his campaign to drive the Vikings from the French shores. He was somewhat successful in this endeavor. He did not succeed in driving the Vikings out, but did limit their expansion and confined them to a much smaller area than what they had hoped for. Today the area that the Vikings settled is called Normandy, after the Norsemen.
Generation 6. Baldwin II "the Bald," 2nd Count of Flanders, the son of Baldwin Iron-Arm and Judith, like his father maintained a vigorous defense of his lands against the incursions of the Northmen. Succeeding in 880, he strengthened the dynastic importance of his family by marrying Aelfthryth, (Alfritha) daughter of King Alfred The Great, of England. (See England) A violent and greedy man, Baldwin died in 918, and was buried in the Abbey of St. Pertin. Two years later, Alfritha moved his body to Ghent, the Church of St. Peters. She died in 929, and was buried beside her husband. Baldwin�s possessions were divided between his two sons Arnulf the Elder and Adalulf, (who survived only a short time)
Generation 5. Arnulf The Elder, (Arnoul the Great) 3rd Count of Flanders, son of Baldwin II and Aelfthryth, succeeded to the whole inheritance of his father. Known at Virginiarious times as Arnulf the Forester, Arnulf the Great and Arnuf Magnus, he became Count in 918, ruling as Count of Flanders and Artois. His reign was filled with warfare against the Northmen. He was married to Alice (Adela), daughter of Herbert II, 3rd count of Vermandois, above. In his old age Arnulf placed the government in the hands of his son. He died in 965.
Generation 4. Baldwin III, 4th Count of Flanders, son of Arnulf and Alice, had a short reign, but did much for the commercial and industrial progress of the country, setting up the first weavers and fullers at Ghent, and instituting yearly fairs at Ypres, Bruges, and other places. He was married to Maud, daughter of Conrad I, le Pacifique, Roi de Bourgogne Tansjurane (the Peaceful, king of Burgundy. )
Another source gives another wife as Machila, daughter of Herman Billing, Duke of Saxony (961-973), and that she was the mother of Arnulf II.
On Baldwin III�s death in 961, the old count, Arnulf, resumed control and spent the few remaining years of his life in securing the succession of his grandson Arnulf II.
Generation 3. Arnulf II, 5th Count of Flanders, son of Baldwin III and Maud, was married to Rosalie, (or Susanna) daughter of Berengar II of Ivrea, King of Italy from 950 when King Lothair died. (More research should be done here.) He was only able to hold the throne for 2 years, before overcome by Otto the Great. Arnulf II died in 989.
Generation 2. Baldwin IV, 6th Count of Flanders, son of Arnulf II and Rosalie, called �With the Long Beard.� He was married to Ogive, daughter of Frederic I, Count of Luxembourg. Baldwin IV fought successfully both against the Capetian king of France, and the Emperor Henry II of Germany, who yielded Valenciennes, Ghent, Waes and Zeeland. The Count of Flanders thus became a feudatory of the empire as well as of the French crown.
Another source says that the mother of Baldwin V, was Eleanora, daughter of Richard II, Duke of Normandy.
Generation 1. Baldwin V, 7th Count of Flanders, (1036-1067) son of Baldwin IV and Ogive, greatly extended his power, and picked up new territories. He married Adela, daughter of Robert I, King of France. (See the Capetian House of France). She was the widow of Richard III, Duke of Normandy. Baldwin became so powerful that when Henry I of France died in 1060, he was appointed regent during the minority of Phillip I. Before his death in 1067, he saw his eldest daughter Matilda, become Queen of England. His two sons became rivals for power. Baldwin VI was killed in the battle between them in 1071.
Children:
Sir Richard Forester, born 1050, was the son of Count Baldwin V, of Flanders, and Princess Adela, It is with this person that the name Forester first comes into use as a surname. He was mentioned in King William�s �Domesday book,� knighted by William after the battle of Hastings and given a great amount of land in county Northumberland in England and county Berwick in Southern Scotland. He is regarded by many as the ancestor of all Fosters, Forsters, Forresters, Foresters, Forresters, Fortests and Forrests both in the British Isles, Australia and in the Americas.
Generation #2 Sir Hugo Forester (d. 1121). Some sources identify this man and Sir Richard as the same person. He fought against Magnus, King of Norway in 1101 and helped King Richard I fight against Robert in 1106. He had two sons, Hugo and Reginald.
Generation #3 Sir Reginald Forester (d. 1156), like his father and grandfather, was the governor of Etherstone. He was knighted on August 22, 1138 by King Stephen.
Generation #4 William Forester was also Governor of Etherstone. He was the General in command against the Welsh rebellion in 1163 and 1165. He fought against Louis VII of France 1168-1169, and died at Etherstone in 1176.
Generation #5 Sir John Forester (d. 1220) accompanied King Richard I to the Holy Land in the Crusades and was the hero of the Battle of Acre. For his bravery he was knighted by Richard the Lion Hearted in the Holy Land and was made Governor of Bamborough. He is also known to be one of the nobles who compelled King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215.
Generation #6 Sir Randolph Forster was a general under Henry III and fought against France in 1225. He also was a surety in the signing of the Magna Carta. He was the Governor of Bamborough and died in 1256.
Generation #7 Sir Alfred Forster was called "The Generous." He was knighted on the battlefield of Eversham August 4, 1265 and died in 1284. Some sources add another generation at this point, also named Alfred and also knighted at Eversham.
Generation #8 Reginald Forster fought at Banockburn on the side of King Edward II. After the battle he married and had a son named Richard. He died in 1328.
Generation #9 Sir Richard Forster (d. 1371) fought in the One Hundred Years War with France. He accompanied King Edward III in the invasion of France and was knighted after the battle of Crecy on August 26, 1346. He is also known to have fought at Bordeaux.
Generation #10 Sir William Forster was also a general and was knighted by Henry V.
Generation #11 Sir Thomas Forster was born at Etherstone Castle in 1397. He married Joan de Elmerden, co-heiress of the earldom of Angus. He had three sons: Robert, Rowland, and Thomas.
Generation #12 Sir Thomas Forster married Elizabeth, the daughter of Featherstonhaugh and settled in Hunsden. They had nineteen sons, including Thomas, Roger, and Nicholas. Reginald Foster of Massachusetts, whom we have seen referenced in many sources, descended from Thomas.
Generation #13 Sir Roger Forster married Joan Hussey. She was the daughter of Hussey of Sussex, who was beheaded for treason in 1537 by Henry VIII. The Hussey family descended from Hubert Hussey, a Norman nobleman who was married to Helen, the daughter of Richard V, Duke of Normandy.
The story of Roger Forster is very interesting. Our primary source for this story is a letter written by Sir John Forster in the 16th century to his cousin Thomas. John was a great-great grandson of Thomas Forster, Roger's brother. John's cousin Thomas, the recipient of the letter, was a grandson of Roger. in the letter, John describes an incident which occurred in the life of Roger Forster.
Roger and three of his brothers were out hunting and came to a town called Newham. Thomas was twenty years old at the time. Roger was seventeen, and Nicholas was fourteen. They encountered some men of the Karr clan and a fight broke out after one of the Karr's dogs bit one of the Forsters. Only one of the Karrs and his dog were left alive after the fight. This man, seeking revenge, later laid an ambush for the Forster brothers at a place called Branton. Karr was accompanied by individuals (probably dogs) named Too and King. Too was killed and Karr fled. Thomas Forster, then fearful of further reprisals, fled to Ridsdale for safety. Roger, for the same reason, fled to London.
This story is important to us because it helps us to see where many of the USA ancestral immigrants came from. He did not come from Scotland, or Northern Ireland, or even the Anglo-Scottish border. He came from London. It must also be noted that many historians and genealogists are not totally convinced that the USA "Foster" lineage is as has been popularly claimed. In the case of the Australian Immigrants, the lineage is far more easily defined due primarily to the relatively later times of immigration where movements of peoples were more likely to be documented with higher degrees of accuracy.
Generation #14 Thomas Forster was the son of Roger Forster. He married Margaret Browning, who was the daughter of Browning of Chelmsford, in 1545.
Generation #15 Robert Forster of Salop. Of this person we know almost nothing.
Generation #16 Sir Robert Forster (b. 1587) married a Miss Isham.