Austin FOSTER
Husband Austin FOSTER [22831]
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
Father: FOSTER [22830] ( - ) Mother: Molinda (Linda) MCALISTER [22821] ( - )
Wife
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
Children
General Notes: Husband - Austin FOSTER
FTM NOTE: PRIN MH:I22924
Research Notes: Husband - Austin FOSTER
From William Erwin Halbrook's "A School Man of the Ozarks", p151. "My
second matrimonial venture was partly romantic and partly a matter of
necessity. Teaching at Scotland I took meals with a widow (Odell Holbrook)
who was caring for her decrepti, aged father and his aged, deaf and dumb
sister. This sister had been a mother to this widow, who during her
childhood had lost her mother. The widow had no income except what she
could work out among her neighbors. She was serving as a cook in the
school lunch. As a cook and an industrious and clean housekeeper she was
excellent. She had high ideals and reputable hence the match was
inevitable. "That enabled me to share with my two brothers in the
responsibility of caring for our own mother, blind and in her nineties.
Even though this widow was much younger, her situation and mine justified
the venture. So for some years after our marriage we cared for these
three old people in their last days until the passed beyond. I qualified
for Teacher Retirement income, and no couple have lived happier, conscious
of having discharged as best we could our filial responsibility. "It is of
interest that the maiden name of this widow whom I married was ODell
Holbrook. So when she married me she just changed one letter in her
original name, from Holbrook to Halbrook. The tradition of our family, as
I was told by my great uncle, is that back in England the names were
variations in the same family and had the same root. In the Government
Archives we found the name of George Halbrooks, he added the letter 's' to
his name, and had applied for a Revolutionary War pension. He was from
Surry county, North Carolina, where my own great grandfather [William
Halbrook] was born, and was probably his father. When he made his
application he had moved to Gibson county, Indiana. Now my wife's
grandfather, Lewis Holbrook, claimed to have emigrated from White county,
Illinois, which is adjacent to Gibson county. So it is quite likely that
the two families have a common origin, the spelling having been changed
meanwhile.
Sources: Other : Halbrook, William Erwin, "A School Boy of the Ozarks", Ch
14