Born in Ione Oregon in 1889, the family travelled to Washington while Cloyd was very young.  Cloyd grew to adolescence/young manhood in and around North Bend Washington before being brought by his mother and brothers to a new beginning in Alberta Canada.

His mother, Hannah Catherine Morgan Foster swore this affidavit to certify the date and location of Cloyd’s birth.

On his father’s farm, near Ione, Oregon.
The Morgans, including Hannah’s parents and siblings, lived in Morrow County Oregon and that is where the family lived until the wagon trains got loaded, with baby Cloyd included – for Washington.

one Oregon is in Morrow County, in the north east part of the state.  Customs officials when told we were travelling from Canada to Morrow County asked in a surprised tone, were we hunters?  As if there was no reason they could think of for going THERE.

Cloyd was born there because his mother’s family had settled there.  Hannah’s brother Milton became famous in the state as a representative for Oregon wheat growing world wide.

C lody’s brother Ewell wrote this letter in the 60s to his son Melvyn.  It tells the story of the move from Ione Oregon to North Bend Washington.

Cloyd was not yet 1 year old when this happened.  His mother’s parents had just died and so perhaps there was inheritance money for a fresh start?  Otherwise it is hard to understand the timing.

loyd attended school at North Bend.  Here he appears with his siblings and classmates about 1895

The family attended North Bend Baptist Church at the time of it’s 1897 opening.  Here is the congregation including young Cloyds with some of his family and the freshly built church which stands today.

Trips to nearby Seattle creatted opportunities for more formal photographs as well.

Homestead map of Alberta Township 58 Range 2, west of the Fifth Meridian.

This map shows the filings made as of May 3, 1906.
Easy to spot along the top row is W.C. Foster.

His quarter section is two sections west of the others as he was too young to file when he first arrived. But there you see W.D Foster (Duke) and H.C. Foster (Hannah Catherine) and T.E. Foster (Ewell) all in a row.
Filed straight south of H.C. is O.C. Foster (Oscar).

If this map continued one row north it would show the quarter section of H.R. Tarplee, north of the Dillworth filing I do belief.  Map being sought.

This photo was improved by Stephen Foster.  Click to see what the original looked like.
The photo is taken at the home of Harry R. Tarplee.  Present are his wife and both his daughters.  The young fellow is neighbour Cloyd Foster.  From the body language I would say Cloyd has come courting which makes this pre-1909.

Cloyd was not uncertain about staying in Canada.  Where as some of Roscoe and Oscar went back to Washington before long, and Ewell went back and then returned, Cloyd became a citizen of Canada in 1908.  I don’t think it was a requirement of his homestead.  I think instead it might have been that Tarplee girl next door.

This  Marriage  License  was  issued  in  1909  and  is  countersigned  April  1910.

To the best of my knowledge, Cloyd and Dorothy were married in 1912.  So the dates on this document are a little confusing.  Was Dorothy playing hard to get?  Was something standing in the way?

As you will see below the 1911 Census shows Cloyd still living with his mom and siblings.

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he earliest Canadian Census I can find that includes Cloyd is 1911 (Roscoe appears in 1906).

Here he is in his mother’s household, listed as Clyde, which was a very common mistake. Cloyd is 22 years old here.

A collection of letters sent by Andrew J. Foster to his son Cloyd between 1915 and 1927. These were kept by D. Margaret Foster, Cloyd’s wife.

I transcribed them to help with more understandable meanings but please do read the originals to undestand the spelling and grammar Great Grandpa Andrew used. He is alternately philosophical, practical, preachy and loving often in a dialog that gives a sense of what his accent would have been like.

Iremember  my Granda Foster, Cloyd’s wife talking about her love of sheep.  I remember seeing sheep at their farm when I was little.  These pedigree documents confirm they were raising Angora sheep at least since 1925.

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Photos taken at various times around the farm and farm yard that Cloyd Foster farmed.

Several other family members are included, sons Lawrence, Max and Don, Daughters inlaw Jean, Sunny, Viola.  Grandsons Dale, Clifford and Greg. Granddaughters Sallee, Beverly.

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Just as son Roscoe wrote to brother Cloyd, they applied for a military headstone and had a military funeral at the State Soldier’s Home Cemetery.

JCloyd and Margaret are buried together at Manola Cemetery.