Foster, Jack
Biographical Note
At the time of the Civil War, Jack Foster was a slave of the Tompkins family of Virginia. Though Christopher Q. Tompkins, Foster's owner, served with the 22nd Virginia Infantry during the war, Foster found himself in the 36th Virginia, body servant to a young soldier in the regiment. By 1883, Foster was living in Richmond, Virginia. He may have been the same man as a driver named John Foster enumerated in the 1880 census living in Richmond, Virginia with wife Virginia and daughters Hattie, Lucy, Ada and Ida. By 1900, Virginia Foster was a widow in Richmond, living with children Ada, Ida, and Chris.
Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:
Jack Foster Letter
The collection includes a letter from Jack Foster, a formerly enslaved person and body servant in the 36th Virginia Infantry, to Confederate General John McCausland, reminiscing about the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain and his time in camp service during the American Civil War.