Dwight Foster (December 13, 1828April 18, 1884) was an American lawyer and politician from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. He served as

Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected constitutionally defined executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The officeholder ...

and was an associate justice of the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...

Early life

Foster was born in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts while also b ...

and attended the common schools there and completed preparatory studies in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1848, where he was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

. "This list is compiled from material from the Order of Skull and Bones membership books at

Sterling Library Sterling Memorial Library (SML) is the main library building of the Yale University Library system in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Opened in 1931, the library was designed by James Gamble Rogers as the centerpiece of Yale's Gothic Re ...

, Yale University and other public records. The latest books available are the 1971 ''Living members'' and the 1973 ''Deceased Members'' books. The last year the members were published in the ''

Yale Banner Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

'' is 1969." He was admitted to the bar in

the following year, and attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1851. He began the

practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...

in Worcester.

Career

In 1854, he served in the Massachusetts State Militia and was Governor Emory Washburn's aide-de-camp. Foster held various positions in the government in Massachusetts, including

probate judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as Orphans' Courts o ...

. In 1864, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts and was elected

, serving from 1861 to 1864. He returned to practicing law until 1866 when he was appointed

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...

of the

by Governor Alexander Bullock. He served as associate justice from 1866 to 1869. After leaving office he served as Associate Counsel for the

New England Mutual Life Insurance Company MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, wi ...

. Foster died on April 18, 1884 in Boston, Massachusetts, and is interred in the

Rural Cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

in Worcester.

Family life

Foster was the son of Alfred Dwight Foster (1800–1852) and Lydia Stiles. His father was a representative on the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

and was involved with various civic organizations including the Worcester town council,

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Council ...

Leicester Academy Leicester Academy was founded on March 23, 1784, when the Act of Incorporation for Leicester Academy was passed by the Massachusetts General Court as a private, state chartered institution. The charter issued to the Academy bears the bold signatur ...

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

, the State Lunatic Asylum, and the State Reform School. Foster married Henrietta Perkins Baldwin (1830–1910), the daughter of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Governor & U.S. Senator

Roger Sherman Baldwin Roger Sherman Baldwin (January 4, 1793 – February 19, 1863) was an American politician who served as the 32nd Governor of Connecticut from 1844 to 1846 and a United States senator from 1847 to 1851. As a lawyer, his career was most notable ...

. They had eight children: Alfred Dwight Foster, Burnside Foster, Emily B. Foster, Mary Rebecca Foster, Henrietta Baldwin Foster, Roger Sherman Baldwin Foster, Reginald Foster and Elizabeth Skinner Foster. Their son Roger Sherman Baldwin Foster (1857–1924) was a prominent lawyer. His grandfather, Judge Dwight Foster (1757–1823), was a Representative and a Senator from Massachusetts; born in Brookfield, Worcester County, Mass., December 7, 1757; completed preparatory studies and graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, Providence, R.I., in 1774; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1778 and commenced practice in Providence, R.I.; justice of the peace for Worcester County 1781–1823; special justice of the court of common pleas 1792; sheriff of Worcester County 1792; member, State house of representatives 1791–1792; elected to the Third and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1793, to June 6, 1800, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on Claims (Fourth through Sixth Congresses); delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1799; elected to the United States Senate as a Federalist to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Samuel Dexter Samuel Dexter (May 14, 1761May 4, 1816) was an early American statesman who served both in Congress and in the Presidential Cabinets of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Dexter was an 1881 graduate of Harvard ...

and served from June 6, 1800, to March 2, 1803, when he resigned; chief justice of the court of common pleas 1801–1811; member, State house of representatives 1808–1809; member of the Governor's council and held other state and local offices chief justice of Worcester County, Massachusetts, a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, the Massachusetts State Legislature, and the Massachusetts Executive Council, and was a U.S. senator serving as a Federalist from 1800 to 1803. His great uncle

Theodore Foster Theodore Foster (April 29, 1752January 13, 1828) was an American lawyer and politician from Rhode Island. He was a member of the Federalist Party and later the National Republican Party. He served as one of the first two United States senato ...

was a Senator from Rhode Island; born in Brookfield, Worcester County, Mass., April 29, 1752; pursued classical studies and graduated from Rhode Island College (now

), Providence, R.I., in 1770; studied law; admitted to the bar about 1771 and commenced practice in Providence, R.I.; town clerk of Providence 1775–1787; member, State house of representatives 1776–1782; appointed judge of the court of admiralty in May 1785; appointed Naval Officer of Customs for the district of Providence, R.I., 1790; appointed to the United States Senate in 1790; elected in 1791 and again in 1797 as a Federalist and served from June 7, 1790, to March 3, 1803; was not a candidate for reelection in 1802; retired from public life and engaged in writing and historical research; member, State house of representatives 1812–1816; trustee of Brown University 1794–1822.

References

External links

MHS Foster Family Autograph Collection: Guide to the Collection
Dwight Foster

* ttp://homepages.rootsweb.com/~bowers/SOY/CaptJohn/d3190.htm Descendants of Captain John Sherman
Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England
By Thomas Townsend Sherman *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Dwight (1828-1884) 1828 births 1884 deaths Yale College alumni Massachusetts Attorneys General Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Massachusetts lawyers Politicians from Worcester, Massachusetts Burials at Rural Cemetery (Worcester, Massachusetts) Politicians from Boston Lawyers from Boston Harvard Law School alumni 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers