Just got in and am stretched out on my own bed trying to convince myself the last nine days was not a dream.

This morning I returned to Spartanburg Library.  Brad was not there however he had left his Moseley research for me.  WOW what an extensive and complete collection of documents.  What I hadn’t expected was the number of Foster references. Including Thomas who after having received his father’s home place from John Foster’s will, nothing more was known by me.

In reality my “mysterious” Fosters aren’t that much of a mystery.  Not much was known about them because the work of hunting back and finding the records hasn’t been done – at least by anyone we in Canada have been in touch with.  The Fosters of Grindal Shoals, Union county South Carolina had great neighbors like Moseley, Jasper, Sims, Haims and Hodge.  They had great neighbors and they were great neighbors.  What I have found is that they participated fully in the community.  They were there, they were known and respected by their community.

It feels good to dust them off a bit.  We are never bound by the past, it does not control us.  Rather, for me, there is simply a respect and admiration for the life, love, work, hopes, fears, daring, sadness that went into forwarding the genes I inhabit.

Perhaps had my dad gotten along better with his dad, and had grandpa Foster gotten along better with his dad (although then probably he wouldn’t have come to Canada), the story of the Fosters in  South Carolina would be old tales we had all grown up with.  Maybe then they would have less magnetism for me.  Whatever the case I am exceedingly pleased with myself for having taken the chance to rejoin the line so that these things can be known by us and those Fosters that are related or even come after us.

Time to go to bed.