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

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. 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 highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously fu ...

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, Engl ...

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County ( ) is a County (United States), county 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. Being 1,510.6 ...

and attended the common schools there and completed preparatory studies in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. 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 society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...

. "This list is compiled from material from the Order of Skull and Bones membership books at Sterling Library, 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'' is 1969." He was admitted to the bar in

the following year, and attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

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 profes ...

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 Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and was elected

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

Associate Justice An 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 ...

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, w ...

. 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-19th century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries, which tended to be churchyards. Rural cemeter ...

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 the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

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 a private, state chartered school in Leicester, Massachusetts. History 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 ...

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

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

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

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 university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, 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 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 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 Politicians from Worcester, Massachusetts Burials at Rural Cemetery (Worcester, Massachusetts) Politicians from Boston Lawyers from Boston Harvard Law School alumni 19th-century Massachusetts state court judges 19th-century American lawyers Members of Skull and Bones