Carson Johnson - The Fosters

Genealogical History of Some Carsons, Johnsons, and Related Families

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Chapter 29 – The Fosters

Up to this point in this book, the various families have merged into the Carson family. However, with the Fosters, we find a parallel line, not really a part of the Carson family tree except for the fact that a Carson daughter married into the Foster family. In fact, we might say that the Carson family merged into the Foster family.

The Fosters are important to us because of Allen Larue Foster, Jr., who married Catherine Elizabeth Carson.

Charles Edward Foster was born in Pennsylvania in December, 1863. He married Adele Monier, who was born in Pennsylvania in May, 1862. In 1900, they were living in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, which is just across the river from Danville and Montour County. Their children were:

Theodore R. Foster
George M. Foster
Minnie Foster
Lorena Foster .

George M. Foster , son of Charles Edward Foster and Adele Monier, was born in October of 1888. He married Minnie Bowman , and Charles Foster was their son.

Fosters in Danville, Pennsylvania

Charles Edward Foster ’s occupation is unknown, but since he lived near Danville, Pennsylvania, it is entirely possible that he was engaged in iron manufacturing. In the mid-19^th century, Danville was an important center for the manufacture of iron railroad rails, and a stove works was established there in 1882. After the 1873 depression and the nation’s conversion from iron to steel, iron manufacturing in Danville began to decline, and the Big Mill closed at the end of the Great Depression of the 1930’s.

Theodore R. Foster, son of Charles Edward Foster and Adele Monier, was born in June, 1891 or 1892 in Danville, Pennsylvania. He married Harriet Wilt , born in 1894, daughter of John Wesley Wilt and Clarissa McMinn . Theodore R. Foster worked for the Reading Railroad, where he was engaged in the repair and maintenance of locomotives and other equipment during the golden years of steam railroads.

The Reading Railroad was organized to transport coal in 1833 as the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. The 94-mile line evolved into an industrial giant involved in coal mining, iron making, rail, canal, and ocean-going transportation, and ship building – one of America’s first conglomerates -- with operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. After World War II, the railroad’s fortunes changed. The Reading entered bankruptcy in 1971, and its operations were taken over by Conrail in 1976. The Reading gained its presence in Danville by its purchase of the Shamokin, Sunbury, and Lewisburg Railroad in 1883.

However, the Reading was not the first railroad in Danville. That honor belongs to the Danville and Pottsville Railroad, the third oldest railroad in the America, chartered in 1826. Construction of that railroad began in July, 1834, on a twenty-mile section between Sunbury and Shamokin, and soon extended to Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania. At first, the railroad used two-ton dump cars pulled by horses and mules to haul coal. In 1837, the railroad experimented with three small steam engines, but reverted to horsepower in 1839 because the locomotives were too heavy for the wooden rails, which were capped with iron strips. In 1852, the line became the first railroad to use iron T-rails, made by nearby Danville Iron Compay. The Danville and Pottsville Railroad eventually became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Children of Theodore R. Foster and Harriet Wilt were

Theodore “Tead” Foster (December 2, 1915 - May 20, 2000, married Margaret Ann Fromm, died in Montoursville, Pennsylvania )
Ruth Foster (born 1917, married Wilson Egli )
Alice Foster (born 1920, married Harold Chapman )
Jeanette Foster (born 1922, married Raemore Mechtly )
John Foster (born 1926)
Pat Foster (born 1928, married John Brooke )
Allen Larue Foster Sr.

Allen Larue Foster, Sr., son of Theodore R. Foster and Harriet Wilt, was born October 7, 1929 in Montoursville, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Moutoursville High School, where he was a member of the Future Farmers of America. He served in the United States Navy, sold aluminum cutlery and pots and pans, sold insurance, and worked as a florist delivery driver. On May 8, 1952, he married Jean Eloise Livingston (See Chapter 30)in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Their only child was Allen Larue Foster Jr.

Allen Larue Foster, Jr., son of Allen Larue Foster, Sr. and Jean Eloise Livingston, was born July 16, 1953, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Williamsport Area High School in 1972 and from Williamsport Area Junior College in 1974 with an Associates Degree in Computer Science. He also attended American Univeresity. After working briefly in a sign shop, he became a computer software architect. He married Catherine Elizabeth Carson (See Chapter 1)

References: 427, 428