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Nathaniel (Nat) Foster Jr. (June 30, 1766–Mar 14, 1840) was a pioneer hunter and trapper in the
Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...
of
Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
. Foster is widely credited with being the model for
James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...
's character of "
Natty Bumppo Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo is a fictional character and the protagonist of James Fenimore Cooper's pentalogy of novels known as the '' Leatherstocking Tales''. Fictional biography Natty Bumppo, the child of white parents, grew up among Delawar ...
."


Personal life

Foster was born in 1766 in
Hinsdale, New Hampshire Hinsdale is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,948 at the 2020 census. Hinsdale is home to part of Pisgah State Park in the northeast, and part of Wantastiquet Mountain State Forest in the northwest. Th ...
, then a sparsely-settled wilderness. When he was about ten years old his father joined the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
to fight in the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. The family, including Mrs. Foster, Nathaniel, and his five siblings, ranging in age from eleven to an infant, stayed at home to fend for themselves. In 1782 the elder Foster returned home, and determined to move his family west, into New York. They settled in the vicinity of Fish House, New York, north of Johnstown. When Foster was around twenty-three or twenty-four he married Jemima Streeter and the couple settled in
Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
in
Herkimer County, New York Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named a ...
. He farmed in the summer and hunted game in the winter, wolves, bear, and panther, and trapped for furs. He carried an unusual type of rifle called a "double shooter", which had one barrel and two locks mounted vertically so the rifle was able to fire two separate shots. In 1832 Foster moved into the former home of Charles F. Herreshoff in
Old Forge, New York Old Forge is a Administrative divisions of New York#Hamlet, hamlet (and census-designated place) on New York State Route 28 in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Webb, New York, Webb in Herkimer County, New York, Herkimer Coun ...
, and rented his farm in Salisbury to his son, Amos. By this time he had become something of a celebrity, and there are many accounts by visitors to his home.


Feud

In Old Forge Foster engaged in a feud with a Mohawk Indian, Peter Waters, called "Drid". A series of incidents finally resulted in a knife fight, in which Foster was wounded. Following this, Drid accompanied a hunting party up the lake while Foster remained behind. He lay in wait for their return at a place now called "Indian Point", and shot Drid as the latter approached in his canoe. Foster was tried for the murder and acquitted.


Death

Following the trial Foster and his wife spent time with relatives in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...
. While there he was stricken, and determined to return home to his daughter, Jemima, in
Ava, New York Ava is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 678 at the 2010 census.. The Town of Ava is in the north central part of the county. Ava is north of the city of Rome. History Ava was formed from Boonville on May 12, 1 ...
, in present-day Oneida County. He died and was buried there in 1840.


Foster and Natty Bumppo


References


External links

* * : Re:
  1. Nicholas Stoner
  2. Nathaniel Foster
      1850
      . . 1851; 2nd ed.
      . . 1857; 3rd ed.
      1960; 3rd ed.
      1871; 3rd ed.
      .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Nat 1766 births 1840 deaths People from Hinsdale, New Hampshire American pioneers American hunters People from Northampton, Fulton County, New York People from Salisbury, Herkimer County, New York