Joseph Foster (9 March 1844 – 29 July 1905) was anEnglishantiquarian andgenealogist whose transcriptions of records held by theInns of Court and theUniversity of Oxford remain important historical resources.
While his family was originally seated atCold Hesledon andHawthorn on the east coast ofCounty Durham, Joseph Foster was born inSunniside, Sunderland, the son of Joseph Foster and Elizabethnée Taylor. Educated in private schools in the neighbouring towns ofNorth Shields, Sunderland, andNewcastle-on-Tyne, Foster developed an interest ingenealogy at an early age, inheriting his genealogical faculty from his grandfather, Myles Birket Foster (1785-1861). He published his first genealogical work in 1862, entitledThe Pedigree of the Fosters of Cold Hesledon in Co. Durham, at the age of 18. He was a nephew of the artistMyles Birket Foster.[1]
Working initially as a printer in London, Foster continued to undertake genealogical research and became a prolific writer and publisher in the field. He undertook research into the histories of various families from the north of England, later publishing four volumes of Lancashire and Yorkshire pedigrees. He became friends with severalKings of Arms andHeralds of Arms during his lifetime, and the records of theCollege of Arms were often unreservedly placed at his service.[2]
His major works, still used by historians, were transcriptions of the admission registers of theInns of Court (published in 1885 asMen-at-the-Bar) and of thematriculation registers of theUniversity of Oxford for the period 1500 to 1886 (published asAlumni Oxonienses). This latter work was marked by the award of an honoraryMA degree by the university in 1892. It has been said of Foster that he was "no scholarly antiquary, but his energy as a transcriber and collector of genealogical and heraldic data has few parallels, and many of his publications remained classic resources, several of permanent value."[1]
Foster married Catherine Clarke Pocock on 12 August 1869 at Burgess Hill, Sussex, and they had two sons and three daughters.[3] His son, Sandys Birket Foster, initially continued his father's work and published several pedigrees in 1890 before qualifying as an accountant and emigrating to America where he died in 1938.[4]
Joseph Foster died in London aged 61, at his home inSt John's Wood, and was buried atKensal Green cemetery.[1]
Foster's publications include the following:[1]
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